My Neighbor's Wife
by Redejeka
Summary: Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune. -William James
1. Chapter 1

"Ben, I'm pregnant"

_It was 12 midnight, Ben slowly creeps upstairs to their house- he and his friends got carried away with their drinking session and did not noticed the time- he slowly opens the door as not to wake his wife who would surely get mad with him for coming home late- he was thankful that he did not drink that much. He walks inside closing the door behind him, once inside the house he proceeds to take off his shoes to not make noises- going to their bedroom he thought that he's already safe but when he was about to turn the knob the door opens._

_Lucy was not asleep, no, she was waiting for her husband to return. It was late at night and she was worried that something bad might have happened to him but then she heard his footsteps- opening the door a little to peer what her husband was doing she saw that he was trying to get to their bedroom unnoticed. It angers her that instead of apologizing to her, he chose to hide the fact that he went home late and worst drunk. 'Think you can hide from me?' she thought. So she forms her plan- she would surprise him by opening the door first before he does. _

"_Lu-Lucy" Ben was shocked to see his wife standing there in front of him. _

"_Ben" she says, mocking him. Her hands were placed in her hips. He cannot look at her; he knows he's been caught. _

_Raising one eyebrow she asks him "would you care to tell me where you have been?" _

_He was thinking of a great excuse to get out of the trouble he's in but he could not think of one, so he just stands there and bows his head thinking that if he did this his wife might feel sympathy for him. Lucy was not impressed- she was asking him and all he did was bow his head. 'Didn't he realize how worried I was?' _

"_Well, are you going to answer me or not?" she was tapping her foot on the floor waiting for him to answer her. _

"_I-I… I was… I was just with my friends." he says truthfully._

"_And what did all of you do?" Lucy asks getting irritated by the vague answers that her husband was giving her. _

"_Well, we… we were drinking." Ben admits shamefully._

"_Oh! So you see it fit to drink all night and forget that you have a wife back home who must be worried sick about you!?" Lucy says her voice getting higher._

"_No, I was going to tell you but… well- I- they said- my friends said that we won't be long" _

"_You won't be long!? Do you know what time it is Ben? Do you? Do you?" Lucy was now practically shouting. _

"_Yes, I know, but, I'm here now, aren't I? I'm fine, no need to worry now." He says grabbing hold of her hands to calm her down._

"_You don't get it do you? You didn't even apologize to me" she jerks her hands away from him._

"_I'm sorry, I really am. This won't happen again. Now, can we just go to sleep and forget about this?"_

"_That's good, Ben! A very sincere apology! You shouldn't have apologized."_

"_What's your problem!? I said I was sorry, isn't that enough?" he snapped at her. He was sincere with his apology but it seems like it wasn't enough for his wife. _

"_You just apologized so we can stop talking- I would stop talking. Admit it Ben you don't want me anymore. Maybe you come home late just to avoid me. Maybe you're not with your friends; you're with your other woman." _

"_What are you talking about!?" he was getting angrier now 'How dare she say such things?'_

"_Admit it Ben, admit it!" shouts Lucy while jabbing her finger to Ben's chest._

_He shouts back at her as he grips her shoulders and shakes her "Admit what? I already told you I was with my friends and we were-"_

_He was cut off by her slap "LIAR!" _

_That did it. He storms outside their house- not without banging the door- and went downstairs to calm his nerves. also, to give his wife time to think of what she was accusing him of. He didn't know what happened; their conversation turned from going home late to accusing him of having an affair. He was hurt by this- is that how low she thinks of him? Does she really believe that he can replace her? Does she doubt his love for her? _

_Reaching the bottom of the stairs he noticed that there was a light coming from the bakeshop. He got embarrassed 'we might have woken up Mrs. Lovett by our fight' He knocks on the door deciding that he was going to apologize to her for the disturbance. The door opens and there reveals Mrs. Lovett, in her night gown- looking like she just got out of the bed (which of course she just did). Ben couldn't resist but glance at the curvy form of the baker which was very obvious because of the thin and tight night dress she was wearing. He gulps as he turns his eyes back onto hers._

"_Mr. B, what are you doing here? Come in." says Mrs. Lovett as she opens the door wider to let him in. they both took a seat at one of the tables- sitting across each other._

"_I just want to apologize; surely, we must have disturbed you from your sleep by our altercation" he says _

"_It's nothing, dearie; Now, how about a drink? Looks like you need one." Mrs. Lovett stands up from her seat and went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of gin and shot glasses for them. When she comes back she pours both of them a drink. They were both silent as they trace in circle with their finger the rim of the glass that they were holding. The baker speaks first._

"_So, Mr. B How was your day?" It was not a good question to ask, considering that he just came from a fight with his wife but she has to break the silence between them._

_But still he answers her question "Well, it was great, really, I enjoyed the meeting with my friends though I was now in trouble because of it." _

"_Good" she says taking a sip from her drink. _

"_I have no one to tell this and I trust you- I cannot believe that Lucy accuses me of having an affair. Why would she think that Mrs. Lovett? Did I do something that might make her think that?" says Ben. He was close to tears; he was really hurt by his wife's accusations._

"_I don't know love, maybe you should just let it go. You were both not thinking straight, she didn't mean it. Just talk tomorrow." She gives him a sympathetic smile. _

_He sighs heavily "You're right Mrs. Lovett" _

_Both were silent again but this time it was Mr. Barker who broke the silence._

"_Mrs., Lovett?" he was fidgeting in his seat, looking uncomfortable._

"_Yes, Love?" she asks him, raising her eyebrows._

"_Can I- well- I- stay here for the night? I know it's improper but-" he blushes as he says this but he doesn't have a choice. He cannot go back yet upstairs, he and his wife- they both need space. Besides, he was only going to stay for the night. 'Not like we're going to do something inappropriate' he thought._

_She waves him off "Nonsense, of course you can! You take the sofa in the parlor" 'anything, for you' she muses as she smiles at him._

_They both stand up and were surprised at their close proximity. They looked at each other. They didn't know who started it but their lips were suddenly crushing against each other- his right hand on the back of her neck and the other was gripping her waist- her hands was clutching the front of his shirt. They walked towards her bedroom without breaking the kiss. Once they were there, he pushed her to the bed and before she could move he was already on top of her- sending kisses to her neck down to her collarbone. Soon enough, he was thrusting inside her- slow pace at first then it becomes faster. They were both writhing as they reached their climax. He fell on top of her; both were panting. They cuddled next to each other as he placed the blanket on their naked form and they both fell asleep neither knowing the consequences of their actions._

The couple was able to compromise but the situation between the barber and the baker was the exact opposite. It has been two weeks since the incident happened and they are still avoiding each other. They did not talk about it- both don't know what to say. But, now that they found out that Mrs. Lovett is pregnant they have to face the issue.

Ben didn't know what to say, he was speechless. It was a mistake- they shouldn't have… he shouldn't have… he wasn't thinking when he did it. He was clouded by lust that he cannot back out from what was happening that night. What about Lucy? What if she finds out? It was stressful for him because he has a wife to deal with- while with Mrs. Lovett, well, she was a widow. Should he tell Lucy? Will she understand? Will she able to accept it? 'No, of course not!' he thought answering his own questions. It is very unacceptable that he had a child first with other woman rather than his own wife. But there's no denying that he's a father now and his baby and the mother of his baby needs him. He's not going to let his child grow up without a father so he supposed that he will have to face the problem.

Mrs. Lovett was standing in front him- they were standing in the middle of her parlor- biting her lip, she was nervous by his lack of reaction. She won't deny the fact that she was happy when she found out that she was pregnant and even happier when the Doctor itself confirmed to her that indeed, she was pregnant. She really wanted to have a child of her own but she thought that she couldn't bear one. She and Albert tried but they were unsuccessful- thinking that she's the one who has a problem it turns out that it's Albert. But it doesn't matter now. She is with child and the father is Benjamin Barker- the love of her life.

Ben suddenly speaks jolting Nellie out of her thoughts.

"Well, it looks like Mrs. Lovett that… we're parents now."

* * *

This story is created because... I don't like Lucy. XD

Isn't that great? your husband is the father of your neighbor's child.

do you all think Lucy should know?

please leave me a review ^^


	2. Chapter 2

thank you guys for the reviews and follows! hihi :D

* * *

Lucy and Benjamin Barker were heading towards the park. It was an unusually day in London and the couple took advantage of it. They found a big tree that offers them a shade so they decided to settle under it.

"Isn't this nice, Ben?" Lucy asks. She was lying in the grass with her head on Ben's lap- eyes closed; her face looking so peaceful.

Ben caresses her face then answers "Yes, as long as I'm with you"

Lucy gives a contented sigh and a serene smile. She was very happy with her husband, although they may sometimes have some misunderstandings she still loves him no matter what. But even though she was happy, Lucy was not contented- she feels like something about her- about them- is missing. She knows what this is, and this is: a child. She and Ben were trying to have a baby but it seems like her husband doesn't want one anymore. These past few weeks he's been acting strange- He avoided having sexual interactions with her, when before he would insist on doing it every night- _men- _but now he was saying excuses. She fears that she was not satisfying him or he was not interested with her anymore. Wanting to confirm her fears she asks Benjamin.

"Ben?"

"Hmm?" answers Ben while caressing Lucy's beautiful blonde hair.

"Do you still consider having a child?

Benjamin was taken off guard by his wife's question. He still wants to have a child with Lucy- considering that she's his wife. But, he just cannot afford to have two at the same time. He wouldn't be able to support the other child if Lucy decided to have one; he cannot let that happen because as a father he knows he is responsible for his child. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he croaks

"We- well, of course. But, I think we should save money first. Right?" it was the truth of course; he just hopes that his wife would agree with him.

"But Ben, didn't you save enough from your barbering?" she argues. They have been saving money because they are planning to bring another soul into this world; but now, Ben was telling her that they should save some money first. What happened to the money that he was earning?

"I have saved some money, yes. But, it wasn't enough." He cringes inside as he says this to his wife. He does not want to lie to her but he has no choice. He cannot tell her that the money the he saved would be used to his child but, not their child, no, Nellie's.

"I have some too. It was the money that my parents gave me on our wedding day, I kept It." says Lucy, trying to convince Ben.

"You have to understand my love, that it's not that simple." He says before tapping his wife's nose.

Lucy was not having any of it. She sits up straight then looks around her, anywhere but Ben. She huffs then says "You know, I'm beginning to think that you don't want to"

"What? Why?" he was surprised that his wife would think that.

"I should ask you that Ben. Why? Is it because you're not getting any satisfaction from me or because you don't like me anymore?" Lucy's voice was getting higher.

"Don't start with this again Lucy" he says knowing where the conversation was heading.

"You didn't even answer my question" she knows that she was being childish but she was tired of putting up with her husband's excuses.

Ben took Lucy's face with both hands turning it to face him then he gently asks "You know that I love you, right?"

Lucy's face softens, and then she answers looking straight into his eyes "Yes"

"Then why are you asking me these questions?" he asks, hurt evident in his eyes.

She just realized that she was hurting her husband and this put her to shame "I'm sorry"

"It's alright. I must admit that I was really avoiding having, you know… because, the truth is I'm afraid that if we had a child that I wouldn't be a good father." He says as he releases his hold on his beautiful wife's face. It was partially true- he was scared that he would not be a good father; but, apart from that his son or daughter with Mrs. Lovett is the real reason.

Lucy pulls him into a hug then kisses him on the cheek "Oh. But you would be Benny! I know you would, trust me!"

He smiles and kisses her forehead "I trust you"

Lucy leans her head on Ben's shoulder. They look perfect together- sitting under the tree with a peaceful smile on their faces. One was truly happy- the other was trying to put on a smile on his face but inside he was consumed by guilt.

* * *

Meanwhile back at Fleet Street the baker was having a very busy day- there are lots of customers in the shop today than usual. She was getting really tired from running up and down the bake house and she feels like any minute now she's going to collapse. She had noticed that when she became pregnant that her energy drains out really fast; plus the nausea and the vomiting. Also, she was more impatient and was easily irritated and angered.

"Oi Miss! Where's my order?"

"Sorry sir, I forgot, I'll get it right away." She scurries towards the counter to grab the pie and the ale that the customer ordered. She was on her way back to deliver the order when she trips- luckily she was able to grope the side of the table near her, avoiding a fall; But unfortunately the ale that she was holding pour over one of her customers making the customer very angry.

"Look what you've done, you stupid wench!" the man shouts as he stands up.

The baker cringes as she saw how big the man is. But, she would show him who the boss is. "I'm sorry; I'm going to give you free pie for that." She says putting on a fake smile.

"You think I need your free pie?" the man laughs and circles around Mrs. Lovett. He was eyeing her body with a perverted grin planted on his face. Then he stands very close behind her encircling his hands in her waist. "How about, I take you, for free?" the man whispers in her ear.

Shivers runs through her body. She was disgusted by the man but most of all she was angry. She looks around her and was glad that the people were still busy with eating- not noticing them. She slowly turns around and leans into the man's ear then she whispers "Get off me, now"

The man did not move- Unfazed by the baker's warning. He only tightens his hold on her waist pulling her closer to him. He looks at her mockingly- as if he was asking her on what she could do to him. Mrs. Lovett had no choice but to take action. She slowly- seductively- run her hands on the man's chest. He grins- eyes clouded with lust. The baker stands on her tip toes as if to kiss the man but what comes next wasn't what the man was expecting. She brings her knees up forcefully and it collides with the man's groin making him double over with pain. The man stands up slowly clutching his stomach- pain still evident on his face. He glares at Mrs. Lovett as he makes his way to the door, leaving.

"Bye, Love." The baker says as she winks at him. The man gives the baker a dirty look then left, closing the door with a loud bang.

* * *

Mrs. Lovett was now lounging at her parlor. She just finished cleaning the shop and now she was just relaxing- reading a book. She hears the bell of her shop rings- indication that someone comes in. then she hears someone calling her name and she realizes that it was Ben.

"Here" she shouts from the parlor. Hearing that Ben arrives at the parlor, Mrs. Lovett turns around to face him.

"Mr. Barker, do you need anything?" she asks.

Ben was quiet- looking serious then he speaks "Yes, actually Mrs. Lovett we need to talk."

Two days ago, after Mrs. Lovett announces that she was pregnant the both of them decide that they should just discuss on what are they to do about the situation some other day; seeing that they were both… not in their right mind that day.

"Sure, love. I'll just go and get us tea. Take a seat." Mrs. Lovett leaves Benjamin alone to go to the kitchen and prepares tea. After pouring the drink in the china cups that she takes from the cupboard, she went back to the parlor.

She hands him the tea and settles herself to the sofa next to Ben- a coffee table between them.

"Now, what it is that you want to talk about?" she asks while taking a sip of her tea.

"Our child." Says Ben plainly.

"Well, then I want to know what's your plan for us?" she asks curiously.

"I will support both of you- financially." He answers indignantly.

"I don't need your money Mr. B, thank you." She was slightly hurt by his words. She doesn't need his money; she can take her of herself and her child without his help. What she needs is for him to be there for both of them- her and the baby inside her.

"I didn't mean it that way. What I'm saying is that you don't need to worry about the money" he says defensively as he shakes his head.

"Actually, I don't worry about it. What worries me is that- what do I tell people if they ask who's the father of my child?" Mrs. Lovett asks- she's been thinking about it since she found out that she's pregnant.

"Tell them it's Albert's. That a week after he died that's when you learned that you were pregnant." He thought about it days ago so he was prepared for the question.

Mrs. Lovett considers this- it's been only a month since Albert died and she has been pregnant for two weeks now. She and Ben conceived the child a week after her husband passed away, so she thinks they could get away with saying that Albert's the father.

She nods in agreement. She was fidgeting in her seat then finally she blurts out what she wanted to say "There's more… I'm worried about you."

"Me? Why?" he asks perplexed by her.

"How are we gonna explain this to Lucy? I know her and she won't forgive us if she finds out about this and knowing you- I know you love her so much and you can't afford to lose her." saying that she knows how he loves his wife so much, feels like she's been stabbed in the chest. 'Well, that's the truth Nellie'

Mr. Barker tears off his gaze at Mrs. Lovett and remains silent- not answering her question.

"You- you- don't have a plan on telling her, don't you?" she asks, knowing what his answers would be. She doesn't know why she wanted to tell Lucy about this. She just thinks that it would be better if Lucy knows- so that they won't have to hide anymore.

"It's just that… I can't- I love my wife so much Mrs. Lovett, It will break her heart if she learns about this. Please, you have to understand."

'What about us? Me?' she wants to ask Ben but she prevents herself. Instead she asks "What about the baby?"

"I will take care of my child- I'll always be there for him or her." he answers truthfully.

"And how are you going to do that?" Mrs. Lovett raises one eyebrow questioningly. Ben opens then closes his mouth a couple of times but nothing come out. He fails to give an answer. She decides to end the conversation- she stands up and walks towards the hallway leading to her bedroom.

She glances back at him- he was rubbing his forehead looking very troublesome. She knows how hard the situation was for him but, it was also hard for her. She knows that they both can't do anything about it. They could not go back in time to right the wrong that they have done that night- they could only face the present and hope for the best.

"Talk to me when you have the answer. Good night."

* * *

hey guuys! :)))

So, Lucy wants a child too... should I allow her? o.O

leave me a review :)


	3. Chapter 3

Heeey! :) another chapter... thank you again for the reviews and follows! :D

* * *

Lucy was up early, it was Monday morning. She was sipping her tea when Benjamin comes out of their bedroom, ready for work.

Ben walks up to her and kisses her on the cheek. "Good Morning"

Lucy puts down the cup that she was holding and returns her husband's kiss "Good Morning, Ben"

"Up so early, eh?" he asks while rubbing the sleep off of his eyes.

"I'm going out and I'll be back by lunch." She answers

"Where are you going? Do you want me to go with you?" he asks worried that his wife would go out alone. He doesn't like the idea- the streets of London are very dangerous.

"No, it's alright. I'm just going to the… to meet a friend" she stands up and starts walking towards the door- ready to leave.

He grabs her hand to stop her and she spans around to face him- surprised by his action. He hugs her then he kisses her on the cheek "Alright, take care."

Lucy smiles at him then leaves.

He watches her as she descends down the stairs up to the road until she disappears. He does not know where Lucy and her friend will meet up. If only he could prevent her from going outside all by herself- he would. But, he knows that his wife needs some time alone- without him. He trusts her and he thinks that she can protect herself because she's a strong woman. 'Who are you kidding? She's fragile' he gives out a defeated sigh and shakes his head.

He walks towards the small table beside the window where all of his barbering tools are placed. He fixes them; he also cleans and shines his razors. After his daily routines are done he walks towards the door and flips the sign from close to open.

Walking back to the barber chair Mrs. Lovett suddenly comes into his mind. 'Maybe I should check her, after what happened yesterday.' He doesn't know how she's going to react in seeing him but, he just feels like seeing her. He was about to go down but a customer comes in.

"Good Morning, Sir." He greets the customer enthusiastically. He takes the customer's coat and directs him towards the barber chair.

"A shave is badly needed." The customer says as he makes himself comfortable in the chair.

After preparing what he needs for the shave He proceeds to lather the customer's face then begins his shaving.

"Nice weather today." Ben says attempting to create a conversation but the customer grunted disinterestedly. He knows that his customer was not in the mood for talking so he remains quiet all throughout.

After he finishes shaving, the customer pays him then leaves hurriedly. Seeing that he now has the chance to visit the baker downstairs he immediately closes his shop before someone comes in. he went downstairs then stands at the front door of Mrs. Lovett's bake shop. He hopes he won't get any bad reaction from the barker. Mustering all his courage he steps inside the shop and finds the baker where she usually was- behind the counter- kneading the dough that was obviously for the pie.

The baker did not stop on what she's doing nor look up to greet him. He doesn't know if she didn't notice his arrival or she's just ignoring him. He clears his throat rather loudly then says.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Lovett."

Eleanor stops kneading the dough and looks at him. She looks like she was going to say something but was cut off when her hand flies to her mouth and her eyes widens. She runs from the counter to- Ben doesn't know where. He doesn't know what happens to her so he decides to sit on one of the table and waits for her to come back. Approaching the seat that he chooses he was suddenly stopped by the sound of someone retching. Thinking that it was the baker, he follows the sound.

Mrs. Lovett was about to greet Ben too when she suddenly feels like vomiting. She immediately runs to the bathroom- afraid that if she did not hurry up she's going to end up throwing up there. Luckily, she's just in time; she kneels in front of the toilet then starts emptying her stomach. After thinking that she was finished she stands up but then she started throwing up again.

Reaching the bathroom he sees that the door was slightly open- walking inside, the image of Mrs. Lovett kneeling in front of the toilet and puking greets him. Instantly, he was at Nellie's side pulling her hair back while rubbing her back soothingly.

She was embarrassed that he got to see her like that but also thankful that he was there to help her. She makes sure that she's done throwing up- she stands up and washes her mouth. After she's done she turns around and finds that she was face to face with him- five inches apart. They both look at each other and as if there was a string pulling them together- they slowly lean in closer and closer…

Memories of the night that they had intercourse comes flashing in Mrs. Lovett's mind. She remembers how everything started with a kiss. She very much wants to taste his soft lips again- he was now an inch away. He was so tempting- his luscious lips, beautiful eyes, handsome face. She would kill to feel him again but, she knows that it was wrong.

Opening her eyes which she didn't realize was closed- she clears her throat then turns her head to the side. Ben also opens his eyes and clears his throat. She pats his chest and moves past him heading back to the shop.

"Come on, Mr. B"

He follows her- she returns in kneading the dough and he stands there- watching her.

Both were silent- thinking about the same thing- the kiss that _almost _happened.

He breaks the silence.

He asks her- bothered by what he saw earlier "Are you alright, Mrs. Lovett?"

She looks at him "What? Of course! It's normal love, when you're pregnant." She answers reassuring him.

"Okay, but, you look sick. Have you eaten yet?" he asks still worried about her.

She smiles up at him "No need to worry Mr. B., I'm fine and no, didn't get the chance to eat breakfast- I have lots of works to do."

"But Mrs. Lovett, you have to eat." He says walking up behind her and putting his hand on her shoulder

She pouts "I'm not hungry."

"Come on, Mrs. Lovett. Don't be stubborn. I'll eat with you if you like- haven't eaten breakfast yet too." He says convincing her.

She thinks for a while then sighs in defeat- how can she resist Benjamin? "Alright! Alright! Go take a seat and I'll make us something to eat." She says as she went to the kitchen and starts making food. Ben did what she says and chooses a table just near the door.

She was humming a cheerful tune while making food. It was a good thing that she has some company. It's been a long time- a month- since she last eats with someone. She decides that toasts and eggs would be enough for the two of them so that's what she cooks. After preparing the food she walks to the table where Benjamin was seated and puts down the tray of food. She sits across him and grabs her plate. They both eat in silence.

After eating, Benjamin accidentally lets out a loud burp- his face was blushing out of embarrassment. Mrs. Lovett finds this adorable and started giggling making Ben's face all the more red.

Nellie stands up and starts to collect the dishes. She grabs Ben's plate but he stops her- holding her hand which was holding the plate. Then again they looked at each other. Mrs. Lovett tears her eyes away from the barber and slowly directs it to his hand that was still holding hers. He follows her gaze and yanks his hand away from her as if he was burned.

"I'm sorry." He apologizes then bows his head- embarrassed.

She just smiles at him then continues on with what she's doing. She grabs their plates. She drops it on the sink and started washing. Her mind wanders to the things that happened earlier. Two times that they gazed at each other's eyes and she feels like there's a connection between them or spark; she doesn't know if he can feel it too. Lucy comes into her mind and she immediately crosses out the fact that there was a chance that he might feel it too.

She comes back to the shop and finds that it was empty 'Now, where did he go?' she muses. She was about to check Ben upstairs when…

"Boo" she gives out a scream and a startled jump. Her heart was beating so fast. She turns around and sees Ben clutching his stomach laughing his heart out. She stomps her foot on the ground and crosses her hands in front of her chest.

"You think it was funny? You nearly gave me a heart attack." She says trying to sound angry.

"I'm- I'm- sorry Mrs. Lovett" says Ben trying to contain his laughter but failing "I- I- I thought it was funny."

She huffs then turns around- leaving. But, he grabs her arm a little forcefully before she could go somewhere else and she landed on his chest. Ben- not expecting the impact of Mrs. Lovett stumbles backwards then falls- taking Nellie with her. As they fall he wraps his hands around her to protect her-their heads bump together- she landed on top of him. Yet again, as if Fate was toying with them- it is the third time of the day that they were faced on a very awkward and… a very tempting situation.

Mrs. Lovett wriggles out of the barber's embrace and he releases his hold on her. She stands up and straightens out her skirt while he sits on the floor rubbing his forehead. He looks up to her but she wasn't looking at him. He slowly stands up.

"I guess I should be going now- Lucy will be back in a while. Thank you for the breakfast." He says as he makes his way out of the shop heading to the apartment upstairs. .

After he left, she realizes something: she's supposed to be angry with Ben. Last night their discussion didn't end well- she ended up leaving him. She told herself that she's not going to talk to him unless he figures out a plan. But now what? She guesses she just can't stay angry with Ben- try as she might, she can't.

They were just together for a few hours and they already managed to get themselves into situations wherein they would get into trouble. She sighs as she heads back to her working station- the counter. A small smile manages to form in her lips- she honestly quite enjoy their time together.

Meanwhile upstairs Benjamin was pacing- he was in a deep thought. He was only going to check on the woman downstairs but he didn't expect the things that had happened- almost happened- down there. They were so close… so close in doing the same mistake that they did, again. 'You like it though'

"No" he mutters to himself. He doesn't like it and he's not going to jeopardize his relationship with his wife just to _have_ Mrs. Lovett. But truthfully, He was very thankful to her for having been able to stop him from doing what he might do- given the chance that she did not stop him.

He was disturbed from his thinking when he hears the bell in his shop ringing. He looks at the door and sees Lucy- she was smiling up at him. Relief washes over him after seeing his wife. He forgets what happens just a while ago. He walks towards his wife- pulling her in a tight embrace.

"Enjoy your day?" he asks.

"Yes, very much" answers Lucy. She also wraps her arms around her husband. Ben pulls out of the embrace and starts to walk taking Lucy with him. Walking in the middle of the room- towards the barber chair- he sits in the chair and pulls her in his lap.

"Good. Tell me about it." she wraps her arms around his neck then starts with her story- as she tells him about what happens to her, Ben pays attention- she was a perfect distraction for him not to think about what just happened a while ago.

* * *

Their apartment has a divider- the other half of their house serves as Ben's barbershop ^^ (just thought that I should explain)

awesomefrankiefan- We all want Nellie happy... but we also want some little drama, right? so there, I made this chapter a little fluffy just for you ;)

thelovelyflorencelovett- I hope he does too! Poor Lucy- oblivious to her husband's shenanigans.

hey! another question :) though ya'll don't seem to answer back haha...

Are you all excited to see Lone Ranger? I am! :))))

Leave me a review XD


	4. Chapter 4

thank you again for the reviews :)

* * *

It was twelve midnight; Ben lays awake beside his slumbering wife. Darkness surrounds him- only the glow of the moon and the stars lights their bedroom. The only sounds that he can hear were the songs that the drunkards across the street were singing and nothing else.

He was tossing and turning- finding a comfortable position in which he can sleep but it never comes. He's been like that for hours. His mind was very active- buzzing with random unintelligible thoughts. Finally deciding that he would take a walk to tire himself- hoping that when he gets back, sleep would welcome him- he slowly gets up from their bed, careful not to wake his wife.

Reaching the front door successfully, he creeps downstairs avoiding the steps which make loud noises. He reaches the bottom when a gust of wind hits him making him shiver. He was thankful for bringing his jacket- a while ago he decides on not bringing it because it's not that cold inside their house; he assumes that it was the same outside. He was preparing to leave when he notices that someone was sitting in front of his neighbor's pie shop. He ambles towards the person but stops two feet away when he realizes that it was the baker.

It looks like Mrs. Lovett was having the same trouble as him- unable to sleep. She seems to be in deep thought because when he sits beside her on the bench that she was sitting at she does not move nor acknowledges his presence. He notices that she was shivering but she doesn't seem to mind. Being a gentleman that he was- he takes off his jacket and wraps it around Mrs. Lovett. That's when she notices him- she does not utter any sound but her mouth was form in 'O' and her eyebrows was shot upwards.

He smiles at her then asks "What are you doing here outside, Mrs. Lovett?"

She also could not sleep; it was that time of the night where she just lays still in her bed and thinks of everything- from her past to her future. But, as time goes by she feels suffocated inside her chamber- memories from the past that she wishes to forget and fears from what the future has in store for her; they were all in her head. So she decides to head outside and clear her mind.

She looks at him for a second then turns away- she smiles "I can't sleep." she simply answers.

He gives out an audible sigh and focuses his gaze up in the sky. "You know Mrs. Lovett… I want to travel to different places."

She just looks at him- urging him to continue on what he was saying. "That's my dream- explore the world." He looks at her "If I hadn't met Lucy, maybe I would be cruising now."

Her brows furrows "you- you're saying that?"

He chuckles as he shakes his head "No, of course not. It is my choice to stay and marry Lucy- I never once regretted my decision. I am happy- I love my wife and she loves me back, there's nothing more that I could ask for."

His eyes were filled with adoration as he mentions his wife. It was true that he did not pursue his dream just to be with Lucy. The first time he saw her he immediately fell in love with her- it was love at first sight. He said to himself that he will win her heart and if that did not happen then he's going to leave. Fortunately, Lucy felt the same way for him. Nothing can replace her in his eyes- she will always be number one in his heart, no matter what happens.

He continues "how about you Mrs. Lovett?"

She crosses her legs over her thighs and cocks her head to the side- thinking "My dream?" she asks more than to herself than him.

"I dreamed of living by the sea…" she sighs, her expression turning sad.

"With the man that I love…" she glances at him "… and with our children."

"Sorry." He suddenly says as he takes her hand and gives it a light squeeze.

"What for?" she asks in confusion.

"For losing Albert." He answers. He cannot imagine what the baker's going through. She must be so lonely and depressed now that Albert passed away. He does not know the feeling of losing someone you really loved but he thinks that he'd probably die if Lucy was to be taken away from him. He can only admire Mrs. Lovett's strength- it seems like she's not affected but he knows deep inside that she's truly hurt.

"Me and Albert- we're just friends…" he raises one eyebrow questioningly.

Mrs. Lovett hurriedly defends herself "No, what I mean to say is… I never really see him as husband. You see, it was a fix marriage. My parents forced me to marry him for their own benefit. He likes me, yes, but I don't like him. I don't know… I just…" she sighs and rubs her forehead.

Ben notices the tears trickling down Mrs. Lovett's cheeks. He wraps his arms around her and lays her head in his chest. He murmurs words of comfort to her ears as he caresses her auburn curls.

She continues on with her story "I was not happy with him and he knows this. Then this man… I- I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. He was perfect in every way. It was surreal- he's just-"

She was cut off with her story when Ben asks her multiple questions "who's this man? Did he know how you feel about him? Did he feel the same way too?" curiosity was clear in his voice.

Mrs. Lovett pulls out from Ben's embrace and sits up straight. She hastily wipes the tears off her face.

"No. he was married… married to this very beautiful woman. I am nothing compare to her." she answers, full of contempt.

"Shh… don't say that Mrs. Lovett…" He puts a finger to her lips "…You. Are. Beautiful." He utters every single word to her to make her believe that he was telling the truth; as he says this he tucks a stray of her hair behind her ears making her shudder from his touch.

"Thank you." She barely whispers.

He just smiles at her then pulls her again into a hug which she gladly returns. They pull away and smile at each other.

"You know, Albert found out that I love this man… he got really jealous and well, he beat me." He pulls her to his side holding her close to him.

"I tried to fight but he's much stronger. When he was done… he just left me lying on the floor- bleeding."

Benjamin can feel the anger bubbling up inside him. He can see Albert beating Mrs. Lovett while she tries to stop him. He cannot believe that Albert would do that. When he was alive he was always kind to him and Lucy. Also, he never once hears or sees the Lovetts fight; when he sees them they seem normal and happy. 'Maybe they are just good at hiding things'.

"He shouldn't have done that." He says. His grip on her arms was tightening that it was starting to hurt the baker.

She can see that he's angry and does not have a clue that he was gripping her arm so hard. He was scowling- staring at the road ahead. She gently takes his other hand that was on his lap then gives it a tight squeeze "Calm down, dear. No need to be angry- it's over and done. Besides, I deserved it."

He whips her head around to face her; his face was dark- eyes blazing with fury. He puts his hand on her shoulder then he shakes her lightly. "No women ever deserved to be treated like that."

His breath was coming out fast. She was stunned by him. Her eyes were wide as she looks at him with something akin to fear. Upon getting back to his senses and seeing the scared look of Mrs. Lovett, he composes himself and looks away from her in shame.

"Sorry." He says, still not looking at her.

She smiles as she realizes that she just witnessed the overprotective side of Benjamin Barker. She does not know that he was going to react like that- if she does then she wouldn't have tell him the story. Nevertheless, she was happy that at least he shows concern- not to Lucy but to her.

She takes his chin and makes him face her. "No need to be sorry… I understand."

She suddenly stands up and brushes invisible dust off her skirt- a habit of hers. "Well, Mr. Barker-"

He cuts her off "Please, Mrs. Lovett, Call me Ben." He says as he also stands up from the bench that they were sitting on.

"Okay, but, you would have to call me Nellie if you want me to call you Ben." She sticks her tongue out to him.

"Deal" he walks with her- stopping in front of the bake shop's door.

Mrs. Lovett opens the door and enters. Before she closes it she faces Ben who was still standing in front of her door smiling at her.

"Good Night… Ben." She winks then grins at him.

He chuckles "Good Night, Nellie." He presses a kiss on her cheek then climbs upstairs without glancing back.

She closes the door and leans her forehead on it while still holding the knob. She touches her cheek where he kisses her- she can still feel his soft lips. She squeals in happiness then runs to her bedroom.

Both of them sleep with the biggest smiles on their faces.

* * *

He can feel someone kissing him. He slowly opens his eyes and immediately he sees the loving face of his beautiful wife.

"Good Morning, Benny!" she says to him as she notices that he was now awake. She was lying on top of him.

"Benny? I have a feeling that you want something." He teases her as he traces small circles on her back. _Benny_- it was the name that she usually calls him whenever she wants or needs something from him. He was curious as to what his wife could possibly want from him early in the morning.

"Yes, well, can I- go out?" she flutters her long lashes out to him.

He frowns then ceases tracing small circles on her back "where are you going?"

Lucy rolls to the side of the bed. She stares at the ceiling while Ben was hovering over her "Meeting a friend."

He pecks her lips then stands up heading towards the bathroom "Alright, but, be careful."

"Okay, bye. I'll be back by lunch." She shouts to him- already making her way out.

Ben finishes taking a bath. He starts doing his daily routines: fixing the bottle of colognes, mixing lather, sharpening, cleaning, and shining his razors. After these were done he decides to have breakfast first. Since Lucy was not there to eat with him, he guesses he should go downstairs and asks Nellie if she would like to join him for breakfast.

He enters Mrs. Lovett's shop but she was not there; though he can smell something good wafting through the air. He thinks that maybe she was in the kitchen. He sits on the table nearest to the counter- it was three feet away from the counter and was situated in the middle of the shop.

After a few minutes with no sign of the baker, he becomes impatient so he decides to call her.

"Nellie!" he shouts from where he was sitting.

He hears footsteps coming from- where he believes the kitchen was and sees Mrs. Lovett coming out of it.

"Mr. Barker, do you need anything?" she asks as she wipes her hands on her apron.

"First of all, it's Ben. I would just like to ask you if you want to join me for breakfast. Lucy left and… well… I don't want to eat alone. So, would you join me?" he hopes she'd say yes.

"Sure. I'm guessing you haven't cooked any food yet, no?" she asks, grinning at him.

"Well, no. I just woke up and…" he replies sheepishly.

"Good. I cooked a lot today. Just sit there while I prepare the food." She goes back to kitchen and minutes later she was back with a tray of food in her hands.

"Here you go." She sets the tray on the table. Their food consists of toasts, eggs, meat, and soup.

Ben eyes the sets of food in front of him- he grabs the toasts first, then started munching on it- Mrs. Lovett eats the soup first.

In the middle of eating their breakfast, Mrs. Lovett suddenly speaks.

"You know, I still love him- even though he's married."

He swallows the food that he was chewing then he looks at her in the eyes "Don't worry, Nellie. Show me his wife and we'll send her to bedlam."

She swats his arm playfully "You bastard! I was being serious."

They both laugh.

Breakfast passes by quickly with some story-telling, teasing and little chuckles and giggles over here and there.

* * *

Lucy arrives at the house of her _friend_. It was a very big house- in fact it was a mansion. It looks eerie on the outside. It was guarded by two lion statues that eyes' seems to follow you whenever you go. The very large mahogany door stands as a barricade that separates the world from inside to outside. The door seems to say that 'once you go in, there's no getting out'.

Lucy hesitates before knocking on the door. She was very nervous- she's not sure if she should do it. She can hear footsteps getting closer and closer- her heart beating so fast- louder and louder- she considers turning around and leaving. The door opens.

"Ah! Mrs. Barker, you're back."

* * *

I don't know what Lucy's up to -.-

what am I to do with Lucy? I think you all now where she is... she's being stubborn!

haha... it looks like you guys are just excited as me to see the Lone Ranger :")

good day! :)

Leave me a review, please? :)


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for the reviews :P

* * *

"_Ah! Mrs. Barker, you're back." _

It was the beadle- the right hand of the judge- who opens the door for Lucy. He gives her a malicious smile then opens the door wider and gestures for her to come inside.

It has been her second time in the house and yet it still amazes her. Opening the door there's a hallway that contains different kinds of paintings and portraits but, what's prominent in this hall was the big chandelier located at the top- it has intricate designs. There is an isle connecting the hall to the rear side of the house. Traversing the isle, at both sides, there were different rooms facing each other. At the end of the isle there's a grand stair case leading to the second floor.

She follows the beadle's lead. The beadle says something about the library and Judge Turpin being there so she guesses that's where they are going. They stop at the third door on the left. The Beadle does not bother knocking and just enters. Upon entering she sees Judge Turpin on his desk- writing something.

The beadle clears his throat and announces her arrival "My Lord, Mrs. Barker's back."

Judge Turpin stops writing then looks up to Lucy. He gives her a welcoming smile then motion for her to sit by the chair near his desk.

"Have you considered my offer, Mrs. Barker?" he asks "It was a great offer. You see… you'll just go with me in my business trip as my secretary- for a week. I'll pay you immediately once we got back here." He shakes his head the sighs "I don't see why you still have to think about it."

She is still hesitant but she knows that if she does not make a decision soon, the Judge will look for replacement. "Well, that's why I'm here sir. I've decided that I would accept your offer."

The judge beams at this. He holds out his hand for his new secretary to shake. She takes his hand and shakes it- he gives it a little squeeze.

"We will leave tomorrow morning at 5 O' clock. Don't be late- I'll meet you here."

She nods then stands up, exiting- the beadle escorts her outside.

Once she was out of the mansion she starts walking home.

She does not expect that they would leave so soon. Now, she was thinking of how she will tell Ben that she will be gone for a week. She has not mention to him that she is looking for a job- he would not agree. She has to think of an excuse to leave. She cannot just simply tell Ben that she found a job and then leave tomorrow- he would not understand.

She does not want to lie to him but, it's better for the two of them if he does not know- even though it pains her in doing so. She's only keeping it from him because she knows that if he finds out then he would not let her come- especially if he knows that she was travelling with a man whom she just met. 'But it was the judge- he can be trusted!' she reasons to herself.

The truth is: the only reason that she went out and looked for a job is because she really wants to bear a child- to start a family. Ben says that they can't for now; because, they still need to earn money. So, if she can help in increasing their incomes and savings, then why not? She would not wait too long to have a family of her own.

She also knows how much Ben wants a child; it is for their own good. She's doing it for both of them. She shakes her head then sighs. No matter how much she says to herself that what she's doing is good for them she still knows that she should tell it to her husband- he deserves to know everything. She thinks it's unfair because Ben is honest to her- he does not keep secrets from her.

She is so deep in her thoughts that she does not notice that she is already in Fleet Street- exactly in front of Mrs. Lovett's bakeshop.

She does not want to see her husband yet so she decides to go to Mrs. Lovett's shop- to pass time. She is about to enter the shop but stops when she sees that it was full of customers. She does not want to disturb the baker. She has no choice but to turn around and go upstairs and face him.

Reaching the top, she peers inside the barber shop to see if her husband is shaving a customer but he's not. She sees Benjamin standing by the window looking outside the streets. She slowly opens the door- careful so that he would not notice her. She slowly walks towards him then stops behind him- he still has not notice her. She puts her hands on her eyes to cover it.

"Lucy?" he asks as he pries her hands away from his eyes but she does not remove it.

She changes her voice so that when she speaks it would sound like a man "No, it's… Colin."

Ben chuckles and plays along "Oh. Colin… do you mind taking your hands off my eyes?"

"No. but, you have to promise me a free shave." She says continuing to speak like a man.

"Okay, sir. I promise."

She removes her hands then he immediately spans around and tickles her to the stomach. She runs away from him and he chases after her- they are both laughing so hard. He corners her- her back was pressed into the door; he was firmly holding her waist- trapping her. Their laughter starts subsiding and soon there is only silence between them.

Ben looks at Lucy's lips then back at her eyes- Lucy does the same. Wanting his husband's lips on hers she does not wastes time and slams her lips into his. He was unresponsive at first but soon responds with full vigor. Their kiss was gentle but passionate. She opens her mouth allowing him entrance. Soon their kiss was increasing in intensity- he bites her lower lips then pulls it a bit, she moans in response. In return, she sucks and nips at his lower lips eliciting a grunt from him.

His hands are now exploring her body- while her hands are entangling on his hair. He starts undoing the laces of her dress and she- the buttons of his shirt. He is about to take her dress off when someone knocks on the door- they both jump- startled.

Lucy immediately runs to their bedroom- holding her dress. Benjamin buttons his shirt and combs his hair using his hands- hoping that he looks presentable enough. He was still panting when he opens the door and let the customer in.

The man looks at him with annoyance. 'Maybe, he knows what we've been doing.' He thinks 'Of course he knows! You're doing it by the door, if you remember.' he blushes at this and bows his head in shame.

He mixes the lather and after that he applies it to the man's face. He finishes shaving his customer in less than two minutes. He makes it extra quick because of embarrassment- he knows that the man knows what he and his wife has been doing.

It is now time for dinner. He closes his shop early because… well, he was excited to continue what he and Lucy were doing before they were interrupted by one of his customers. He is sipping his soup when Lucy suddenly speaks.

"I received a letter from my sister. His husband died and she wants me go to the funeral. She also wants me to stay with her for at least a week."

Lucy prepares herself for this- she has been thinking all day of a great excuse to leave for a week. She knows that it would be a big problem if her sister decides to pay her a visit. But, for now she has to convince her husband to allow her.

"When are we leaving?" he asks saddened by the news. He only met the husband of his sister in law a few times but he still considers John- the husband's name- as his friend. He is very kind and friendly and they get along very well.

"Well… my sister told me not to bring you. Wait before you protest. She told me that she missed me and that she wanted to spend time with me. She told me not to bring you because she wanted my full attention. Also, she said in the letter that you should not worry about me because she will take good care of me." She was cringing inside at how these lies easily come out of her mouth. She feels really guilty for lying, especially seeing her husband's worried look.

Ben was silent- he does not want his wife to travel alone. He trusts her but he does not trust the people of London. It was dangerous out there; but, he does not have a choice. He cannot stop his wife from going there just because he cannot come with her. 'But, there's always a way' he thinks.

"How about… I travel with you then once there I will stay in an inn then you can go to your sister and do whatever you want. We'll only see each other again at the train station when we leave to go back here." He says hopeful that his wife would consider his bright idea.

"No Ben. Don't get me wrong- I wanted to be with you but, it will be a waste of money. Please trust me. I'll be fine."

"Your safety is more important than money Lucy." He says matter of factly.

She grabs both his hands and intertwines it with hers "I know… but please- you- trust me. _Benny, _pleas_e."_ She says pleadingly.

He cannot resist the look that his wife is giving him- she is pouting and she is fluttering her lashes at him. She knows what to do to make him agree.

He sighs "Alright. When are you leaving?"

She stands from where she is sitting and hugs him from behind. This makes Ben smile. He reaches for her face then caresses it. Lucy goes back to her seat then answers him.

"I'll leave at 5 O' clock in the morning, tomorrow."

Ben just nods and does not question his wife any further. Although he knows that it is too early for her to leave- he trusts her. 'She is just excited to see her sister.'

After they are done with dinner they head to their bedroom to turn in for the night. Ben thought that they would be able to continue what they were doing a while ago in his shop but Lucy immediately falls asleep. It is still early- 9 O' clock- the time that he closes his shop. He does not want to sleep yet so he decides to visit Mrs. Lovett.

The baker is now washing the dishes- she just finishes cleaning the tables. She is looking forward in having to finish the book that she is reading: Romeo and Juliet. But, it looks like it would take long for her to do that because she really has a lot of things to wash. For the mean time she would just settle with imagining her wedding with Benjamin Barker.

"Nellie." She gives out a startled jump- she almost drops the plate that she was holding.

Ben laughs at her then puts his chin on her shoulder "I can't sleep." he whines.

Mrs. Lovett just continues on with washing the dishes. She pretends that his chin was not her shoulder; his breath was not tickling her neck, his… 'Damn this man! He'll be the death of me.' She is blushing; she is thankful that it's dark and he cannot see her.

"What do you want me to do?" she asks while setting the clean plates aside to dry.

He turns around then starts pacing- thinking of what they could do. He stops pacing "let's go for a walk."

She faces him- hands on her hips. "May I remind you that it's already dark outside and it is not safe to venture out there? Besides, my feet are aching- I just want to collapse on my sofa and read."

She walks past him and starts to head towards her parlor with Ben trailing behind her. Arriving at the parlor, she grabs something from the small drawer at the corner of the room and takes a seat on the love seat. Ben sits beside her.

She lays what looks like a book on the table in front of them and opens it. It turns out that it was a photo album- it is her wedding album.

The first picture is a photo of her and Albert. She is wearing a wedding gown and holding a bouquet of flowers while her husband is wearing a formal suit- he is standing behind her- his hands are possessively around her waist.

Ben notices that although the baker is smiling in the photo her smile does not reach her eyes. He also notices that she is very stunning in the photograph- her hair was pulled in an elegant up do, her gown accentuate her slim figure and ample breasts, her make- up was light and natural. It is his first time seeing her wearing white- she always wears black dresses. Although white looks good on her he still thinks that black suits her more.

He cannot take his eyes off the picture. He traces her face on it- starting with her brows down to her lips.

The baker is just looking at Ben while he admires her wedding photo. She does not know why she shows it to him. Maybe she shows it because… she doesn't know, to have something to do? She can see him tracing her visage and she wants so badly to know what he was thinking of.

He looks at her then he slowly reaches for her face. Lifting his hand he traces the outline of her face. She closes her eyes and savors the sensation of his touch. Using his thumb he smoothes out her eyebrows. He then lays his palm flat on her left cheek and then on the other. Lastly, he ran his finger on her upper lip all the way to the bottom.

She feels like she's in heaven. His touch is so gentle- she feels like he is memorizing each part of her face. Her eyes are still close though he is no longer touching her. She slowly opens her eyes- she's in daze. She sees him looking at her and she can tell that he also looks like he was in a dream.

He entangles his hand in her wild tresses and slowly brings her face close to his. She complies in what he wants to do. She waits for the blissful moment to come. She knows that she should stop him but she thinks it's about time she gives in to him. She has always been stopping him and each time she always feels regret in doing so. Now, she's going to grab her chance and seize the moment.

She closes her eyes but at the exact moment that his lips touches hers images of Lucy pops into her mind. She feels guilty- she can't do this. She opens her eyes and gently pushes him away from her.

"Lucy." She whispers. It's funny how she is the one who is s thinking of Lucy instead of him.

He turns away from her "I'm sorry." He stands up and turns to leave.

She grabs his arm to stop him. He stops but he does not turn around to look at her.

"Stay." She says softly and he does.

They continue to look at the photo album. There is a tension between them at first but it is cut off by the baker's constant story telling- stories about what happens during her wedding day. According to her it is the worst day of her life- having to marry the man you do not love. Ben teases her whenever he sees a photo of her and Albert- she smacks and pinches him in return.

She lays his head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around her. He takes the album and places it on his lap; he uses his other hand- that was not around her- to flip it. They are both comfortable with their position. The two of them are happy- they are secretly hoping that there would be more nights to spend like this.

* * *

Sorry if this chapter contains a lot of Lucy. but, we have to get rid of her for at least a week, don't we? ;)

Guys, you have to remind me that Nellie's pregnant- I always forget. -.- haha.. silly me :P

well... hope you enjoyed this chapter and please, leave me a review :D


	6. Chapter 6

thank you for the reviews :")

* * *

Lucy wakes up exactly thirty minutes before five O' clock. The walk to the judge's house takes thirty minutes, because it is quite far. She does not wake up Ben for he will insist on accompanying her to the train station- which is not her destination. She just writes him a letter saying good bye.

She grabs her bags- they mostly contain of her dresses and nothing else- then quietly exits their house. She thinks of hiring a carriage- just to be sure that she will not be late- but thinks better of it. She will just walk extra fast than waste money. Besides, she thinks that the judge would not leave without her- she's his secretary.

She arrives at the meeting place and sees Judge Turpin climbing up the carriage- she's just in time. She approaches the Beadle who is looking at her. Once she is on his side he grabs her bags and puts it on the back of the carriage- compartment. She murmurs her thank you and she climbs in. after a while the beadle comes back and sits next to her.

She sits in between Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford. The judge tells the driver of the carriage that they can now go. The carriage starts moving and their journey begins.

Ben wakes up to an empty bed. He mentally kicks himself for not waking up early to accompany his wife at least until the train station. He stands up and notices a note at the top of the drawer beside their bed. He opens it and sees that it is from Lucy.

_Ben,_

_I did not wake you up because I don't want to bother you. _

_Don't worry about me… I'll be safe._

_I will miss you so much._

_Ben, please don't go out with your friends and drink yourself to death._

_I love you! Take Care!_

_Lucy,_

He is smiling while reading the note that his wife left him. He places it back to the drawer and heads to the bathroom to take a bath. 'This week would be dull without Lucy' he shakes his head then sighs.

He finishes taking a bath and now he is doing his daily routines. He does not cook breakfast because he will eat at Mrs. Lovett's. He is just finishing what he is doing before he goes downstairs.

While polishing one of his razors he thinks of what happens last night between him and Nellie. He doesn't know what he is thinking when he kisses her. It is actually a shame that she's the one who's thinking about Lucy instead of him.

Whenever he sees the baker there is something inside him that wants to kiss her- he doesn't know why. He thinks that maybe because she is beautiful and at the same time tempting. Or it is just because of her low cut dresses, her luscious lips, her beautiful eyes, her long lashes… everything about her. He blames it on his manly desires. 'It's just lust and nothing more'

He thinks that it's dangerous for him to be alone with Mrs. Lovett. Because, he might do things that he might soon regret. The perfect example would be that time when they lost control and gave into each other's desires. Not that he's not happy about being a father- he is; but sometimes he wishes that it did not happen and that his wife was the one bearing his first child. But, it has been done and Mrs. Lovett is the one who is carrying his child.

He is happy for his blossoming relationship with the baker. They are now more open and comfortable with each other. He thinks of her as his little sister but the thought of impregnating his little sister disgusts him. Best friend- it rather suits her perfectly on what he thinks of her. He wishes that Nellie thinks the same way.

He cast one last look at his razors- after seeing that they are clean, he goes downstairs.

He enters the bakeshop and finds Mrs. Lovett coming out of her kitchen carrying a tray. She notices him and gives him a smile while she places the tray at one of the tables. She takes a seat and motions for him to do the same- he sits across her.

Last night he mentions to her that Lucy will be leaving today to go to her sister and she will stay there for a week. He asks her if they could eat together- from breakfast to dinner- because he does not fancy eating alone. She willingly agrees to this and even offers to cook for him all week. Saying that she knows that he is not fond of cooking- she is right. He is forced to cook because Lucy does not know how to cook- not that he is complaining.

She prepares toasts and scrambled eggs for breakfast. He tells her that she does not need to cook a lot of food because he does not eat that much.

"Ben…" she calls him while still chewing "I want an apple."

He laughs at her randomness "I'll buy you at the market later, after lunch."

She huffs "Fine."

They stay silent for a while- he is examining her while she is munching on her toast. He notices that she is starting to gain some weight from her pregnancy. Actually, it is really her breasts that he notices- they have gotten quite big. He averts his gaze away from her when he realizes that he is rudely staring at her cleavage. He hopes that she has not notice it.

Mrs. Lovett sees Ben staring at her breasts - he thinks that she has not seen him. She puts the toast that she is holding back to her plate and clears her throat. "So tell me Ben, did you like what you see?" she asks, raising one eyebrow.

It is truly embarrassing for a man to be caught staring at a woman's chest. He pretends not to know what she is talking about- though he is blushing. "I- what- what are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Ben. I saw you looking at my…" she looks down at her breasts then back at him- wiggling her eyebrows up and down, with a smirk on her face.

He blushes even more and immediately defends himself "I was looking at your necklace and it was beautiful- it suits you."

Now, she is the one who's blushing. "Thank you, Ben. It was really nice of- hey! I wasn't wearing any necklace." She touches her neck and confirms that it is bare from accessories.

He scratches the back of his head then shrugs- he continues to eat his food.

She shakes her head and picks her toast up "You're a terrible liar Ben."

He snorts "Yes, I know. I am so bad at lying that you actually believed that you're wearing a necklace."

Breakfast passes by with both of them laughing and teasing each other. Ben ends up washing the dishes- she cooks and he washes the plates- while Nellie resumes to baking pies.

* * *

Ben closes his shop for a while for the lunch break. He has a lot of customers today and he feels very tired- he doesn't feel like eating; he just wants to rest. He goes down to Mrs. Lovett to tell her that he's not going to eat.

As he enters the shop he expects Mrs. Lovett to be in the kitchen, already cooking, but she's not there. She is still serving pies to her hungry customers. He takes a seat at the corner of the shop- invisible to the baker. He watches her as she fuss around- taking orders and serving them.

He notices how she always works so hard- seeing her now she looks like she's going to collapse, but she never stops working. He thinks that if he's tired – and he does not do much but shave his customers- then, how much more must Mrs. Lovett feels, if she's always walking around, serving and baking.

What he likes most about her is that, she never fails to smile. Her smile is contagious and it seems to brighten the mood of each and every one of her customers- they always leave the shop happy, except for those who are really in a bad mood. It is always planted on her face, that it feels unnatural seeing her sad- though he had only seen her really upset, once. She is always cheery; she is a very carefree person.

He notices that people are gradually leaving the shop and decides to make himself visible to the baker. He stands at the corner for a while as he watches her bids her goodbye to the last customer. As the door slams shut, the baker starts clearing the tables.

He approaches her- he is now standing behind her- she is bent over, wiping the dirt off the table. He lays a hand on her shoulder and softly calls her. "Nellie."

She gives out a startled jump and spans around, her hands on her chest- her heart beating fast. "Mr. B, you gave me a heart attack, you did."

He just laughs at her, then he takes a seat at the table that she just finished cleaning. "I'm just here to tell you that you don't need to cook food for me. I'm not really hungry and I just want to rest."

Mrs. Lovett gasp, she just remembers that she should be cooking food for the two of them. Now she feels embarrassed, forgetting about her dear Benjamin, Luckily he does not want to eat.

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I got very busy in the shop that I forgot to cook." She says embarrassedly, her cheeks a tinge of pink.

He grabs her hands that are on top of the table and caresses her knuckles with his thumb. "No need to worry about me, you should be the one eating." he drops her hands and points a finger to her belly "Our baby must be hungry."

She smiles affectionately at him then nods in agreement. She starts to walk, heading to her kitchen but he stops her. He stands up and he pushes her to the seat that he occupies before. "Stay there. I'll cook for you."

Before she could protest he already disappears, heading to the kitchen.

She still needs to finish cleaning the tables but Ben says that she stays where she is. She is happy because Benjamin is in her kitchen, cooking food for her. She knows that he is not fond of cooking but now, he's doing it for her. She is really excited to taste the food that he will serve.

She can hear the sound of pots and pans banging against each other and various surfaces. She wonders for a minute if Ben is alright, but she trusts that Ben knows what he's doing. Or maybe she should check on him, no? She is about to stand up and heads towards the kitchen but decides against it, 'He'll be fine.'

Twenty minutes later, Ben comes out of the kitchen holding a tray. He looks like he just had a fight with a bloke down town. His hair is all over the place, sweat forms on his forehead; two buttons of his shirt are open while the sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. He is a sight.

He is grinning at her as he comes towards her. He places the tray at the table and pushes it in front of her; he takes a seat across her. Seeing the food that he prepares for her, she bursts out laughing. She clutches her stomach as she continues to laugh, tears springing from her eyes.

She looks at Ben and immediately stops laughing. His is wringing his hands together as he stares at her, hurt evident on his eyes. She feels really guilty for being insensitive as she laughs at his efforts. She does not intend to hurt him. She just finds it funny how he spends too much time in the kitchen cooking toasts and scrambled eggs.

"I'm- I- I'm sorry, Ben. It wasn't nice of me to laugh at you." She says apologetically. She is very embarrassed at her rudeness, and she is hoping that he'll accept her apology.

"Just eat." he says as he stands up and goes back to his shop.

Mrs. Lovett watches him as he exits the shop. She is really disappointed at herself for making Ben mad at her. Instead of thanking him she shows her gratitude by laughing at him 'Good job, Nellie.' She will go to his shop later to apologize; she wishes that he will be able to forgive her. But for now, she needs to eat- for her baby.

She picks up the toast and just stares at it. She can't eat knowing that she is not in good terms with Ben. But she knows that he will not like it if he finds out that she had not eaten the meal that he prepares for her. He might think that she does not like his cooking- when in fact she does, though she has not tastes the food yet.

She eats the food hurriedly, stuffing them simultaneously in her mouth. She chokes as the foods blocks her air way. She runs to the kitchen, heading towards the sink, as she reaches the sink she quickly opens the faucet and drinks water from it. The food smoothly goes down her throat enabling her to breath. She stays there in the kitchen leaning over the sink, panting.

When her breathing returns to normal, she swaggers to her shop and continues to clean some of the tables that are left unclean. As she thoroughly wipes the tables, she thinks of a way to apologize to Ben. She decides that later at dinner, she will bring his food upstairs, as a sign of peace offering.

* * *

Dinner comes and Mrs. Lovett is anxious about going upstairs and facing Ben. She does not know what mood will he be in, 'bad mood for sure.'

She already fixes the food that she will bring upstairs- she cooked stew for him. She is lucky that the dinner rush is not that busy, because she is able to take as much time as she needs for cooking. She prepares herself to go upstairs- her heart is beating fast, she is nervous. 'You can do it, Nell.' Gaining some confidence, she puts a smile on her face then carries the tray and exits the shop, with hopes of making amends with the barber.

She reaches the landing of the stairs, balancing the tray with one hand; she cautiously knocks on the door. She hears him says come in and she does. She slowly opens the door peering inside, looking for any sign of Ben.

She sees him standing in the middle of the room, eyeing her as she stands there at the door way. She does not know what to say, he is just looking at her- saying nothing. She fidgets under his gaze- she does not like it when someone is staring at her, it makes her uncomfortable.

She clears her throat and begins to walk towards him; she stops a foot away from him- holding the tray with both her hands. She bows her head and extends her hand- handing out the food to him.

"I'm sorry, Ben."

He just stands there, unmoving. He does not take the tray of food from her like she expects he would.

She looks up to him- his face not showing any emotion. She is not used to him being like this and she can't stand the way he ignores her. Desperate to be forgiven she puts the tray on the floor, beside her. She looks at him, biting her bottom lip. She fidgets with her dress and without warning she engulfs him in a fierce hug.

"I'm sorry, Ben. Please, forgive me." She squeezes him tighter.

Ben cannot resist his best friend. He's a little hurt that she made fun of him but, their friendship is more important to him. 'Forgive and forget' it's not that really of a big deal, so he guesses that he should forgive her. Besides, he's also quite hungry.

He smiles and returns the hug "Alright, you're forgiven." He murmurs to her.

He lets go of her and she does the same.

"Now, what did you bring for me? I'm starving." he asks as he rubs his stomach and peers through the tray.

Mrs. Lovett brightly smiles at him. She picks up the tray once more then turns around- walking towards the door. She stops before she reaches the exit and looks at him over her shoulder.

"I was giving this to you a while ago but I don't think that you want it. So I've decided to just give this to the poor beggar outside." she says, teasing him. She has an evil glint in her eyes and a smirk to match it.

Ben pouts at her and whines "Come on, Nell. I'm hungry." He sticks out his bottom lip even more, for effects.

She just sticks her tongue out to him and exits the shop leaving him to chase after her.

* * *

Hey guys! :))) well, thank you for reminding me about Nellie's pregnancy :P

did you like this chapter?

leave me a review ^^


	7. Chapter 7

thank you, thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites :")

* * *

Mrs. Lovett takes a seat at one of the benches in her shop as her last customer leaves. She knows that she has a lot of works to do- cleaning the shop and washing the dishes- but she's really tired and wants to take a rest, before she continues on with what she needs to do.

She pushes the dirty plate away from her and places her elbows at the table, her hands holding her head. She closes her eyes and bites her lips as she lets her emotions overpower her.

She does not know what she is feeling. She feels really annoyed that she wants to scream her heart out and at the same time she is tired- tired of everything, that she just wants to curl up in her bed and cry.

There are a lot of things in her mind. Things that she always refuses to acknowledge because she knows that if she does, it will only make her miserable- as if she is not, now. It's been there since the first time she met Benjamin Barker. It's funny how he is then one who causes her pain and yet makes her happy.

She hates herself for loving him.

She tries to stop, at first she keeps on convincing herself that it is just an attraction- it's not. She cannot fool herself, she loves him; it is wrong but she does not care. If loving him is a sin, then she is willing to commit that sin, over and over again- without regrets.

He has an effect on her that whenever he's near her, heart skips a beat and he just takes her breath away. He's the only person that can do that to her- he's the only person that she truly loves. Good news is: he is also very much in love, truly, madly, and deeply in love- the bad news is… with his wife.

She knows that knowing that he has a wife should make her stop wanting him, but she can't. There's just something about him- everything in him is just… perfect. He is everything that she ever wants and everything that she will never have.

As she thinks of these things, tears escape her eyes. She lets it flow, letting it all out, wanting the pain to go away. She has been keeping it inside herself long enough that she feels suffocated- she has to let go. Each tear that she sheds represents her pain and suffering and so, she does not wipe it off, wanting to feel them escape her eyes… escape her.

She sighs as she shakes her head; she stands up and starts clearing away the tables. This is why she does not want to think about what she really feels towards Ben, it just makes her vulnerable. For now, she is just happy that their relationship is blossoming. Before, they only talk when he hands her the rent but now, they always talk- about everything, he confides in her, tell her about his problems, and asks for advice. She guesses that she should be content with what they have now: _friendship,_ although she knows that for her, it will never be enough_._

* * *

Mrs. Lovett wakes up with a smile on her face. She may be feeling her lowest last night, but today, she feels happy. The crying helped her lot- the pain lessens and her mind is at peace- she's back to her normal self.

She gets up from her bed and discards her night gown to change to her working dress. She fixes her hair, putting it into two pony tails. Satisfied with her look, she takes one last glance at the mirror before she exits her bedroom and heads to her shop to start making pies.

She starts making fillings for the pie, preparing all the needed ingredients first. She is in the middle of cutting the onions when she hears someone enters her shop. It is rather too early to have a customer and for Ben to be downstairs. So, it surprises her that it is Benjamin who walks in her shop.

"Good morning, Nellie." He greets her with his charming smile that she adores. He approaches her; he stops beside her and watches her as she continues on with cutting the onions.

She pauses for a while and looks at him with confusion "Good morning, Ben. What are you doing here so early?"

He looks up and pretends to think, tapping his chin with his forefinger. "Well, I was thinking… maybe we should take a day off. We can go to the park or just do whatever we want to do." he looks at her then smiles "what do you think?"

She beams at him- looking really excited but, her lips suddenly pucker and her brows furrow "No."

Ben stands there gaping at her- Just when he thinks that she's going to agree with him, she suddenly turns him down.

He stands behind her and put his hands on her waist. She closes her eyes for a second; she takes a deep breath and slowly exhales- she pretends not to be bothered by what he's doing and still continues on with cutting, but this time, garlic.

He leans forwards- her back against his chest; her heart is beating fast and her forehead is beginning to sweat- he whispers in her ear "close your shop or else…"

She leans on the counter; she's trying to process what he just said to her. She cannot focus, their close proximity is making her dizzy- her head is spinning. She drops the knife and grips his wrists; she is tugging them- trying to remove his hold on her waist.

"Or else what?" she says in an airy voice, she does not mean to sound seductive.

He runs his hands up and down her sides "Or else I will…"

He tickles her.

She screams, laughs, and thrashes around, trying to escape him. He does not stop, he traps her on the counter, pressing his weight on her but careful enough not to squeeze her- she's pregnant.

"Oh my… stop!" she says between her laughs "stop!" she waves her arms up and down, surrendering "fine, I'll close the shop."

He stops tickling her and steps backwards, giving her some space. She leans on the counter her hand on her chest, she's breathing heavily, exhausted by his assault.

After her breath returns to normal she spans around looking at the smirking Benjamin. She grins at him and takes one step forward- they are now standing face to face. She puts her hands on her hips and raises one eyebrow. "So, you think you could get away with that?"

Before she gets the chance to tickle him he quickly runs away from her, sensing what she is about to do. She chases her all around the shop but he is too quick for her. She slumps down at one of the benches defeated, while Ben is on the other side of the room.

"Come on, Nellie! Come and get me." He laughs at her. She crosses her arms and turns away from him, pouting.

Seeing that she had enough of chasing him, he slowly walks towards her. He takes a seat across her and looks at her.

"Now, Nell. Don't get mad at me, it's not my fault that you were not able to chase Me." He just smirks at her, although she was not looking at him. She finds her adorable like this- pouting like a little girl who is not able to get what she wants. He chuckles which causes her to scowl even more.

"It's not fair, you're faster than me." She slams her fist at the table and glares at him. He is making fun of her and it is not amusing her.

He just laughs at her; he stands up and scoots himself to the bench where she is sitting. He wraps his arms around her and lays his head on her shoulder. "You look adorable when you're mad, Nell."

She huffs then moves away from him. She may be angry on the outside but inside she's enjoying his attempts woo her.

He sighs then calls her name softly "Nellie."

She looks at him and answers, annoyance filling her voice "What!?"

He smiles at her and taps her nose with his forefinger "I'm sorry, okay? Here…" he grabs her hands and puts it on his waist "tickle me 'till you're satisfied."

She cannot help but smile at this. Her anger slowly fades away, she takes the opportunity and soon she's attacking him mercilessly. Now, he's the one who's screaming, laughing, and thrashing.

* * *

After breakfast, they have decided to go to the park- to relax and enjoy the fine weather.

They are now sitting under the willow tree that shades them from the rays of the sun. They are munching on some apple as they practically talk about anything that just comes out of their mind. They really look happy and contented. They are in a different world, a world where only the two of them exists.

"… yes, I pushed him into the water. He deserved that for making fun of me." Her head held high as she tells him this, with pride in her voice.

"You're a really bad, Nell." He tuts "I pity that poor little kid."

They both laugh at the sarcasm of his statement. Once their laughter subsides, he notices Mrs. Lovett, she is looking straight ahead, with sadness and longing in her eyes.

He touches the side of her face and turns her head to him so that she is facing him. "What's wrong, Nell?"

She smiles but it does not reach her eyes- he takes note of this "Nothing."

He knows that she's lying. If she has problems, she can tell him and he will help her. That's what friends are for, right? They help each other. What she needs to do is just tell him what's bothering her and he'll do what he can in order to help her. He does not want to see her so sad.

"You're lying. Something's wrong, I know it. Please tell me what's bothering you." He caresses her face with his thumb.

She sighs as she closes her eyes, leaning into his touch. Wringing her hands together she answers him "well, are- I- will, you still talk to me when Lucy comes back?" she asks as he looks into his eyes, worry etched on her face.

"What makes you think that I would stop talking to you?" he asks in confusion.

She averts her gaze away from him. What makes her think that? Well, he always spends his time with Lucy, if not with her then at work. His precious time is used entirely only for his wife. She knows that once Lucy comes home, Mrs. Lovett will be left at her own- alone, just like she always was. Now she regrets agreeing to him that they eat together. She is now used to him always being around; it will be hard for her to adjust being alone, again.

"Well, I- you- I… don't know." She sighs, shaking her head. "It's just that… you never really talk to me before. I'm guessing because your attention is always with your wife and once she comes back, I know you'll forget about me."

Ben feels guilty. True, he never talks to her before but, it's because he's afraid to talk to her. Because he thinks that she won't like to make friends with him. Every time he sees her she's always talking with someone who belongs to the middle class, and he thinks that she wouldn't want to be talking to a simple barber like him. And that's where he's wrong. Once he really gets to know Mrs. Lovett, he finds out that she is just simple, like him. He likes her jovial personality and her cleverness. She does not judge people by their status; she's very kind and easy to be with.

"I'm not going to forget you, Nellie. I will still visit you every day. I'm not going to abandon my best friend." he grabs her hands and squeezes them. She does not need to worry about him forgetting her; he will make sure that he checks on her every day, just to let her know that he's always there for her.

She looks at him but this time she is beaming "really? You promise?"

He chuckles "of course"

She stands up, looking for something. Once she finds what she's looking for she goes back to sitting beside Ben- who is currently eating his second apple.

"Ben, let's carve our name on this tree." She says enthusiastically, pointing at the tree behind them. She hands him the rock that they will use to carve their names with.

He nods happily and takes the rock from her; he turns around, facing the tree. He starts carving his name 'Benjamin' then he hands the rock to Mrs. Lovett so she can also write her name on the tree. Below his name is where she puts hers 'Eleanor'.

"There, finished!" she says and they both look at their masterpiece.

Mrs. Lovett taps him on the shoulder and they both turn away from the tree.

"You know, my mother says to me that if you carve your name with your friend's or lover's name on a tree, it will make your bond even stronger and it will last forever." She says to him as she lightly taps his knee.

"It's a good thing, then." He answers as he faces her. He looks at her- eyes twinkling with happiness "That means our friendship will lasts… _forever." _

He leans towards her and kisses her on the cheek- he does not know what the kiss is for. Maybe, it's for the friendship that she has given him.

She smiles at him and lays her head on his shoulder.

_Forever_…

* * *

Hey guys! So, do you think I should bring Lucy back in maybe after one to two chapters?

or should i put more Ben/Nellie fluffy moments?

leave me a review :P


	8. Chapter 8

thank you thelovelyflorencelovett for your review :)))

* * *

Both the barber and the baker are lounging in Mrs. Lovett's parlor. They just close their shop and are now relaxing. Ben is on the floor in a cross sitting position; his back resting on the love seat where Nellie is laying. He is busy reading a book while Mrs. Lovett is practically dozing off- tired from a very busy day.

Halfway through the book that he is reading, He closes it and looks over Mrs. Lovett. She is already sleeping; her mouth is hanging open, snoring softly, her hands protectively around her belly. He just stares at her sleeping form, marveling about how peaceful and beautiful she looks.

He brushes a stray of her curly hair away from her face; his hand lingering on her face. Her skin is so smooth and soft- very irresistible. His hand travels down from her face to her neck- which is exposed to him, due to her low cut dress. He grazes his hand to the contours of her neck, to her collarbone, and he stops as he is dangerously close to the top of her breasts. He ceases what he is doing and just continues on again with reading the book.

After a few minutes, he hears Mrs. Lovett muttering something that he cannot understand, and crying. She's having a nightmare. He looks at her- her face shows agony, her head moving from side to side, and she is thrashing.

She is now screaming, screaming… his name. He calls her name, trying to wake her up. But she only hits him on the chest and pushes him- while screaming 'No!' he says her name louder but she's just getting more violent. He shakes her; still, she wouldn't wake up. He is getting scared by how Mrs. Lovett is acting- he needs to wake her up. He goes to the kitchen; he grabs a glass and fills it with water. Going back to the parlor, he stands beside her, holding the glass of water. Hesitating at first- but he has no choice- he pours the water all over her face.

She wakes up, sitting abruptly- gasping for air. She does not notice that she is soaking wet- her nightmare is still fresh on her mind. She looks around and sees Ben kneeling at her side with a worried expression on his face. She hugs him fiercely, as if her life depends on it. She cries on his shoulder- she needs comfort, she's scared and he's the only one around. He returns the hug, tracing small circles on her back.

"Shh… it's alright. I'm here." He whispers comforting words to her, trying to calm her down.

After a while, Mrs. Lovett seems to recover from her nightmare. Her hold on him loosens and her crying stops. She's now sniffing and wiping the tears off her face. She pats Ben on the back and pulls back from the embrace, to look at him; she places her hands on his shoulders.

She stares at him, contemplating if he's really in front of her or not. She cocks her head to the side and slowly brings up her hand to touch his face. She closes her eyes as she caresses his visage. The whole time she's doing this, Ben is just looking at her perplexingly. He does not have any idea what she's doing or what's happening inside her mind, he just lets her do whatever she's doing.

She opens her eyes and smiles at him, a sad smile. She sits at the edge of the sofa and asks him, grabbing hold of his hands. "You're not going to leave us, are you? You'll be there for my baby and I, yes?"

He has a questioning look on his face, confused as to why she is asking these questions to him. He places his hand on her shoulder, the other holding her hand. "I have no plans of leaving you and my child, Nell. Always remember that."

The first time he learns about Mrs. Lovett's pregnancy, the first thing that crosses his mind is: how am I going to raise this child? He knows that with a baby on the way, things will be complicated- it's going to be hard. Mrs. Lovett does not need to worry. He knows his responsibilities and his obligations as a father, and he is going to fulfill it- he will manage… they will manage.

"Promise me that you won't." she says in all seriousness. Half of her does not believe that he won't leave them. She has doubts about him. She fears that if Lucy becomes pregnant, Ben would focus more on his wife and their child, and will eventually forget about her… them.

He sighs; he can see it in her eyes that she does not fully trust him. "I promise you, Nellie. I will always be here for you…" he removes his hand from her shoulder and places it on her belly "… and him."

She smiles adoringly at him and lays her head on his shoulder, wrapping her hand around his torso, while her other hand remains holding his. He does the same but instead, he puts his arm around her shoulder; his chin resting atop her head. They stay in this position, content to be in each other's arm.

Silence fills the room. Only their steady breathing and the cackling of the fire can be heard, and listening closely, the ticking off the clock can also be heard. They do not have something to say to one another. They are both in their own world, thinking about many things and maybe… future possibilities.

Suddenly, Nellie looks up, jolting Ben out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asks, seeing that she's staring at him with a puzzled expression.

"You said him… you think our child's a boy?" she asks him, just realizing what he says to her a while ago- referring to their unborn child as 'him'.

"I don't know, but I do want it to be a boy. We will do a lot of things together and I will teach him how to shave. He'll be a barber, just like me" He has a dreamy look on his face- he can already imagine the things that he and his little boy could do together.

"How about you Nell, Do you want a boy or a girl?" he bets that she wants a girl- a little baker, just like her.

"I don't care… as longs as my baby's healthy. That's all I could wish for." She answers truthfully, which makes him proud of her. He can tell that she's going to be a really good mother- she only wants what's best for her child.

* * *

Ben wakes up, shielding his eyes from the penetrating glare of the sun. He squints trying to look at his surroundings. Realizing he is not in his room, he makes to get up but notices that there's something beside him that's preventing him from moving, a weight pressed onto him. He checks it and the sight of Mrs. Lovett's sleeping form welcomes him. They both fell asleep last night, sitting.

He does not remember most of what happened last night. All he knows is that Mrs. Lovett and he were talking about their child, but after that, he cannot remember. Maybe they fell asleep from exhaustion and did not bother to go into their own respective rooms. After all, they were really tired from having lots of customers yesterday.

The woman next to him stirs, he looks at her- she is starting to wake up. Mrs. Lovett yawns, stretching her arms and her legs. She does not notice Ben at her side; she thinks that she's in the confines of her bedroom.

"Good Morning, Nellie." He greets her.

"Good Morning, Ben." she greets him, still half asleep. A moment later, she sits up straight and her eyes widens in realization. She looks at him and asks "What are you doing in my bedroom?"

Ben laughs at Mrs. Lovett; she thinks she's in her bedroom. "Nell, you're in your parlor. We fell asleep here." He says, as his laughter subsides.

She looks around and is surprised to see that they are really in her living room. She too cannot remember how they end up sleeping there. "Oh." Is the only thing that she manages to say.

Ben smiles at her then stands up, straightening his clothes, she does the same.

"I'll make us breakfast." She walks past him to go to the kitchen and start preparing food.

"Okay, I'll be in the shop." he says as he heads to her shop, taking a seat while waiting for her.

After a while, Mrs. Lovett emerges from the kitchen holding a tray of food. Ben stands up and takes the tray from her, bringing it to their seat. She mutters a 'thank you' and takes a seat. He takes the plate out of the tray one by one and after that, he takes his seat across her.

While eating, Ben notices that Nellie is staring at something behind him. She has a dreamy look on her face. He looks behind him to see what she is looking at, but there's nothing there that seems interesting. Puzzled he tries to catch her attention by pinching her nose.

She blinks a few times and looks at him questioningly; Ben just shrugs his shoulder.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He asks her.

"I was just thinking of names… you know." She says, pointing at her belly."

"Oh. What names have you come up with?" he has been thinking about it too, the other day. In fact, he has a few chosen names that he can suggest to her.

"Well, let's see… James, Joshua, Robert, or William- if it's a boy…" she looks up at him to see if he has any comments about her choices. Seeing that he doesn't have any, she continues "Anna, Mina, or Flora- if it's a girl."

"Those are lovely names, Nell." He says; he thinks that she did a great job picking out names.

"How about you, do you have anything to add to the choices?" she asks him, excited to know what other names he has in mind.

"Yes. David, for boy and Johanna, for girl." He wants to name his son after his childhood friend, David. They were really close, he considers him his best friend, back then. They would play together; most of the time they would get in trouble and would be punished by their parents. But then one day, David and his family left- he does not know where they went or why they left. Ever since, he has not seen David, he never even got the chance to say good bye to him.

He has chosen the name Johanna for their daughter, naming her after his beloved mother. He has been really close to his mother- he is always at her side. His mother gives him everything he wants, considering he is an only child. She always has her full attention on him. He loves his mother very much, and it is very unfortunate that she died just after marrying Lucy- the cause of death is tuberculosis.

His face looks crestfallen as he remembers his mother. He does have many fond memories of her. His mother is a very lively person, never one to stay still. She is pretty much like Mrs. Lovett. She is also very talkative but she makes sense. He misses her a lot. It saddens him that she would never see her grandchildren, she always want one. She would be a great grandmother.

Nellie notices the look on Ben's face. She wonders what he could be thinking at the moment that upsets him. 'Maybe he remembers something.' She muses. She lays her hand on top of his- which is placed on top of the table- and gives it a squeeze.

"What's wrong, Ben?" she asks him, baffled by his sudden change of mood.

"Nothing, I just remembered my mother. I miss her." He answers, giving her a smile that does not reach his eyes.

"Then why don't you visit her? I'm sure she would be happy to see you." She says, trying to cheer him up; but Ben looks more saddened by what she said.

"She's dead." He whispers, more to himself than her. He still cannot accept the fact that his mother is gone; it feels just like yesterday when he's sitting on her lap, singing him a lullaby.

Mrs. Lovett is stunned. She does not know what happened to his mother- and she does not want to ask. He might think that she's a nosy little baker and she does not want that. She'll just wait for him to tell her, if he wants to and if he does not, then she'll just leave it be.

"I'm sorry Ben, I didn't know." She says, giving his hand a light squeeze.

"It's okay." He smiles at her- a big smile- and abruptly stands up clearing away their plates and putting it on the sink.

Mrs. Lovett just shakes her head and clunks her tongue.

_Men…_

* * *

Afternoon comes; Ben is shaving one of his most loyal customers- Mr. Connor. He comes every Friday at lunch and Ben always expects him. He is one of the people who supported Ben to build up his shop. Even though he always offers him a free shave, Mr. Connor still pays.

"How was your day, son?" he asks Ben, while angling his face on a more suitable position, so Ben could shave him easier.

"Fine, Mr. Connor. How about you, sir? And How's your Mrs. Connor? I haven't seen her in a long time." He asks; whenever Mr. Connor goes for a shave, he is always with his wife but Ben has not seen her for a while now.

"She's fine. Next time I come here, I'll bring her with me." He answers, making sure to bring his wife the next time he gets a shave.

"How about Lucy, how is she?" he asks, suddenly remembering the blonde beauty. He is always mesmerized by Lucy, whenever he sees her.

"She's fine, sir. She's not here though." He replies in a saddened tone.

"Ah, the Judge must be keeping her busy." Mr. Connor chuckles.

"Pardon me, sir." He asks him, confused as to what he is talking about.

"She works for Judge Turpin, right?" he just nods in reply, wanting to know what else he is going to say "I saw her riding a carriage with the Judge and the Beadle. It was early in the morning, about three to four days ago."

"Ah, right sir." His mind begins to be bombarded with unpleasant thoughts. His wife, works for the judge? He does not know how to react to that. He does not even know if it's true.

Mr. Connor motions for Ben to come near him "Come here, son. I have something to tell you…" Ben leans closer to Mr. Connor- putting his ear close to Mr. Connor's mouth "Be careful with the judge, your wife's a pretty little thing." he warns him, knowing that the judge can't be trusted, and with that, he left.

* * *

Ben goes down for dinner. He takes a seat at the booth where Nellie is already sitting. He does not greet her nor even smile at her. His mind is not present at the moment- he's in no mood for talking. Ever since Mr. Connor left, he has been thinking about his wife. He does not know what to believe, he trusts his wife but, Mr. Connor says he saw her. He does not know if Mr. Connor is just mistaken- he wishes that he is. The good thing to do is just asks his wife when she gets back.

Mrs. Lovett, sensing that her friend has something that's bothering him, decides to ask him. She looks at Ben who is staring blankly at his food, and clears her throat loudly to get his attention. He does not look up. She does not know if he does not notice or he is just ignoring her. She tries again, this time she calls him.

"Ben!" she half shouts, but still, no response.

"Benjamin!" now she's shouting, she snaps her fingers in front of his face, to break him out of his trance- it worked.

"Wha- what is it?" he asks; his voice is almost a whisper. His eyes show many emotions: confusion, pain, anger. Mrs. Lovett does not know what's going on inside his mind. 'Maybe, he's still thinking about his mother.'

"What's the matter, Ben? What's bothering you?" she asks in concern, she's not used to seeing him like this. He looks really troubled.

"Nothing, I'm okay." He smiles at her but his smile looks strained. "I'll be going now Nellie. I'm tired, good night." he stands up and leaves without looking back.

Mrs. Lovett sighs; she knows that he is lying. She wants to help him if he has any problems but it looks like he does not need her help.

* * *

I don't like this chapter, it's crappy. -_-

Are you guys still there?

I'll bring Lucy back at chapter 10. let's get some action done!

Show me some love, leave me a review. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for the reviews and follow :))))

* * *

Ben wakes up early in the morning feeling very tired. Both his mind and body feels like it has been overly used- which is true. Last night, he's not been able to sleep well- he is pacing around his shop, thinking about his wife and what could she be hiding from him. He tries to convince himself that Mr. Connor has only mistaken Lucy for somebody else and that she's at her sister's house, enjoying. But, there's a nagging feeling in his mind telling that Mr. Connor is stating the truth.

He feels guilty- and it pains him to doubt his wife but there are reasons why he does so. First, he just realized that the train does not leave until 6 o' clock but his wife told him that she's leaving at 5 o' clock- there's no reason for her to leave so early, the train station is not far away from their home. Second, he does not remember his wife receiving a letter- or maybe, he did not notice. And lastly, he guesses that maybe the reason why Lucy did not wake him up when she left is because then he'll know that she's meeting with the judge.

He fears that his suspicions might be true. Truth be told, it is not impossible that Lucy might really be working for the judge. But what he doesn't understand is why wouldn't she tell him? He just needs to tell her and- well, he knows now: his wife did not tell him because she knows that he would not let her. He does not want her to, because he doesn't see the need for her to work. He is earning enough to support the both of them, it is not a lot of money but it's enough. In fact, he can still save some.

But what about- What if, Lucy has an affair with the judge? Doesn't she love him anymore? What does the judge have that he doesn't, Money? But he could provide her that. Wasn't it enough? Why would she want to bear his child if she can have the judge's? Every time she tells him that she loves him, is it true or only for a show? Why would she stay with him then, if the judge could clearly provide her luxury than him? Out of pity?

He gives out a frustrated sigh, he should not be thinking like this. Lucy loves him and he's very sure of that. He shakes his head clearing his thoughts away. Thinking only gives him headache; after all, he will see his wife tomorrow and he'll be able to confirm all these things. He sighs; he does not know how he is going to open to his wife about the matter- Lucy is very sensitive and she might take it the wrong way, she might think that he's accusing her and that he does not trust her.

Standing up from his bed, he walks to the bathroom and takes a quick shower. Taking a bath helps him- he feels relaxed, the water feels cool in his skin and it refreshes him. For a while, he does not think of Lucy, he can only think of how soothing the cool water is- it momentarily washes his worries away.

He goes out of the bedroom, heading towards his shop. He starts doing his daily routines. He begins to ponder about how he treated Mrs. Lovett last night- he acts differently, and maybe rudely. His excuse is that he is not in his right mind- considering about what he found out- and he thinks that his reason is valid. He knows that Mrs. Lovett senses his obvious distress and that she just wants to help him but he just cannot tell her about his problem. If he tells her then she might think things that are not good about Lucy, and he does not like that.

But surely Nellie wouldn't judge his wife, right? She is the most understanding person he knows. She's not one to judge people without knowing their story first, so he guesses that he can tell her. He needs comfort- and assurance. He is confused and he just wants someone to talk to- someone to tell him that everything is just a big mistake.

After finishing what he's doing, he goes downstairs to- as usual- eat breakfast with Mrs. Lovett. He heads towards the door and closes it behind him; he goes downstairs straight to the baker's shop. Upon entering he sees that she's already seated at the booth near the window, he approaches her taking a seat across her.

Mrs. Lovett smiles at him shyly then looks away; he notices that she does not greet him 'good morning' like she always does. It's like she's unsure of how she's going to deal with him, and he perfectly understands her- what with how he acted last night.

Guessing that it's the perfect time to apologize to her, he clears her throat to get her attention "I'm sorry for how I acted last night, Nellie. I just had lots of things in my mind." He says sincerely, looking straight in her eyes.

She's silent for a while, just staring at him- she can see a hint of sadness in his eyes- until she smiles and gives a slight nod. She pushes his plate of food over him and they begin eating.

Moments after, she calls his name softly- he looks at her questioningly- as if to say something, but she just opens and closes her mouth. He can see the hesitation in her eyes but after giving her an encouraging look she says what she wants to say "well- I- if, you know… if you have problems, I can always help."

"I know. Thank you." He mutters- as he looks her in the eyes- his voice barely a whisper. He averts his gaze away from her, looking at his hands which are place at the top of the table, he sighs. "It's Lucy…"

Mrs. Lovett gives him a sympathetic look "Oh, Ben. You must have terribly missed her. No need to be sad, she'll be here tomorrow." She smiles at him, though her smile looks strained- Lucy, coming home isn't a good thing for her, it only means that her alone time with Benjamin will be over.

He shakes his head in negative as he speaks; still not looking at her "No, no, no, it's not that. It's- Well, you see… I told you that she's going at her sister's house, right?" he looks up at her waiting for her response, she just nods and he continues "well, Mr. Connor, my regular customer- me and Lucy's friend- came yesterday, like he does every Friday. He told me that he saw Lucy- the day when she left- he saw her riding a carriage with the Judge and the Beadle."

Mrs. Lovett is quite surprised upon hearing this. She never expects Lucy to lie to her husband, and to just go ride a carriage with the bloody judge and beadle. Doesn't she know that they are very dangerous men? If this is true then clearly Lucy was not thinking when she went with them. Well, what can she say? Lucy is very naïve, indeed.

"Come on, Ben. I know that you know that Mr. Connor might be mistaken. It'd be better if you just ask your wife about it. It's not good that you believe other people more than you do your wife." She says to him, raising one eyebrow. She knows what he is implying when he tells her about what Mr. Connor says to him- he thinks Lucy's lying to him or worse cheating.

Now he feels guiltier. He looks sheepish, gazing at Mrs. Lovett under his eyes. "But you don't understand, Nellie. I have… reasons." He answers back, defending himself.

"Reasons? And what they may be?" she asks him with curiosity evident in her voice.

Ben sighs and ducks down his head, shaking it "Never mind, let's just eat."

She reaches out for his hand and gives it a light squeeze "It'll be alright, Mr. whoever-he-is ' is just mistaken."

He gives her a smile- one that tells that he appreciates what she says and places his other hand on top of hers.

They continue eating, dropping the subject, though Mrs. Lovett could tell that Ben is still thinking about it, and she cannot blame him- she perfectly understands him. She tells him stories about her childhood- on how she always gets into troubles, to make him laugh, to let him not worry. She's happy to find him laughing and enjoying himself, his worries leaving his mind.

After they are done, Ben bids her good bye and off he goes. She smiles, a triumphant one. She knows she is able to make him feel better, not completely, but still. She just hopes that his darling Lucy is really at her sister's house. She knows how much it will hurt Ben if he finds out that she is really with the judge- Lucy may have a good reason to go with Turpin but she still didn't have to lie.

* * *

Ben tidies and closes his shop, going downstairs to lounge at Mrs. Lovett's parlor as they do every night when their works are all done. He opens the door to the bake shop, hearing the bell clanging merrily. He goes straight to the parlor, knowing that the baker is already there- probably reading a book. He's right, he sees her seated at the sofa near the fire place, too engrossed in reading to notice him. Her feet propped up on a stall, her shoes lays discarded at the side of the room.

He approaches her, seating himself beside her. She just looks up at him and back to the book. There's a coffee table beside him where he always places the book he's reading after he's done with it, before he returns to his shop at night. He makes himself comfortable into the sofa; he wraps his arm around Mrs. Lovett's shoulder bringing her close to him, making her lay her head on his shoulder- before grabbing the book and starts reading himself.

It is now very typical to see them in this position every night. There's no malice, it's just that they are both comfortable like that. But of course, if anyone sees them, they might think that the two are lovers-the way that they are both cuddled into each other. But really, to them it's nothing.

The atmosphere around them is very peaceful and quiet. They are both in their own little world- it depends on the story that they are reading. They are hardly aware of each other's presence, far too wrapped up to the story that they are imagining, playing every scene in their head as they are reading.

Suddenly, Mrs. Lovett gives out a squeal- startling Ben- breaking the serenity of the moment. He turns to look at her then frowns, befuddled. "What is it?" he asks.

She is grinning like fool, her smile so wide that it stretches up to her ears. She covers her mouth with her hand that is not holding the book as she feels another sound threatening to escape her mouth- and again, she squeals. She does not even notice that Ben is looking at her- puzzled by her antics- either, when he asked her.

He shakes her subtly to get her attention, and he's successful at that. She looks up at him, with a questioning look on her face; clearly she has no idea that she's making noises- bothering him.

"What are you squealing about?" he asks her as he chuckles.

"Ooh... Ben, they kissed. Ooh… it is so romantic- the prince- oh! Everything's just perfect." She tells him, it is obvious that she is picturing the kiss in her head- with the faraway look on her eyes.

"Tell me about it."

"What? Tell you what?" she asks, she knows what he's asking her to do. She cannot do it, she might get carried away and do something she'll regret.

"The kiss, Read it to me. I want to know too." he says, now interested in what she's reading. His book lays forgotten on his lap.

She shakes her head "No. here…" she hands him the book and points out the part where the kiss happened "read it yourself."

He takes the book from her and silently reads. He remains quiet as he too, imagines the kiss that is happening in the book- he cannot deny the fact that she's right… it's perfect. She looks at him with her big brown eyes, waiting for his reaction. When he finishes, he lets out a shaky breath and hands her back the book.

"You're right, it's… perfect." He says in a whisper, as if afraid that someone might hear them. She places the book on her lap and looks at him- he is looking back at her, eyes boring into hers.

Time stands still as they stare unblinkingly at each other, both know exactly what's on the other's mind. Their hearts beating rapidly and they could hear it as silence fall over them. They are breathing fast- chest rising and falling at the same time. They cannot take it any longer.

They move in synchronization- their eyes fluttering close as they lean into each other. Both anticipating feeling the lips of the other to them and as the moment comes...

_Pure bliss… _

Their minds go blank, everything around them fade. They are the only ones that matter. The only thing that registers into them is the euphoric feeling of each others' lips.

He lifts his hand to put it at the back of her head, pulling her closer to him- the other encircles her waist. She moans softly at this- she puts her hands on both side of his face, cupping them, caressing- feeling him. After a while, she feels his tongue begging for entrance and she allows him- greeting his with hers.

The intensity of the kiss- that starts as gentle- is getting higher. As their tongue rubs against each other, they can both feel the need, the desire, the passion- they have been holding back for so long, they just couldn't stop- yes, it's wrong but nothing's going to hinder them now.

They can both feel a tingling sensation to their bodies, running up their spines. Their hands start to roam, going to places that are forbidden. They moan into each other's mouth- sign that they both enjoy what they're doing.

But before it could go far, they stop. As if on cue, they pull apart- panting very hard, gasping for breath. They both look confused and stunned as they look at each other- eyes wide and mouth agape. Neither knows what to say- but there's really nothing to say. So they just gaze at one other- questioning each other what just happened. But there's no answer.

Benjamin is the first to speak apologizing- though he's really not sorry, because he knows that they both liked it "I'm sorry, I- I don-"

She hushes him by placing a finger on his lips. She does not want to hear what he's going to say, because she knows, she knows that he'll say that it's a mistake- yes it is, just like the child inside her, but she wants to at least for the night pretend that it's not.

"Shh… it's okay. It's nothing, right? We just got carried away. " She says, as she lays her head on his chest, snuggling- her heart still beating fast.

He nods and repeats what she says- though she wishes that he hadn't "Yes, it's nothing." He wraps his hands around her, rubbing her back.

They stay like that, not uttering any word. She expects him to go back to his shop but he didn't- she does not know why, but she's not going to protest, she's happy that he's there. The last thing that's in her mind before sleep claims her is that: she heard, heard his heart beating fast- like hers- and she knows that the kiss is not- nothing, it's…

_Something._

* * *

hey guys, sorry for not updating last week-.-

I'm really nervous about this chapter... how's the kiss?

well, i think it's time that i finally make it happen, right? since Lucy's going back home.

Leave me a Review :)


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for the reviews and follow :D

* * *

It is very early in the morning, Lucy's bags are already packed and she's already dressed- ready to go home. She sits on the queen size bed of the lavish inn that they have been staying for for the past whole week, waiting for the judge and the beadle to tell her that they are leaving.

Moments later, she hears a knock on the door and it is followed by the beadle's voice calling for her. "Mrs. Barker, we're leaving."

She quickly stands up and grabs all her bags which are lying on the floor. She scans the room to check if there are any forgotten things that she is not able to put in her bag and there is none- everything is intact. She walks towards the door and opens it to see the Beadle waiting for her. She smiles at him as he takes her bag from her to carry it for her. They walk through the corridors to the stairs, going down. They see the Judge already waiting for them.

Judge Turpin greets them with a smile; he offers his hand for Lucy to take and escorts her outside- where the carriage is already waiting. The judge lets Lucy climb in the carriage first, and then after Lucy is settled, he follows, then the beadle. They take off, going back to London.

On their way home, Lucy cannot help but think of Judge Turpin. In the whole week that they are together, he has been really nice to her. she expected that the whole time she will spend with the judge and the beadle will all be dedicated for work- she is wrong. The three of them managed to go to the park, eat at a fancy restaurant and attend a party where they danced all night.

Lucy finds it hard not to like Judge Turpin- as a friend. He treats her like Benjamin does. He is a very gentleman and a very caring person. He always fusses about her- asking her if she has eaten already, if she did get enough sleep, if she's tired. He is always concerned for her well being- just like her Ben. She can say that they are somehow similar; but there is something about the Judge that differentiate him from her husband- Judge Turpin is a lot more manly and aggressive, in a way, and Ben is gentle and child like.

The more days Lucy spends with the Judge, the more she gets to know him. The more she gets to know him, the more she gets fond of him. He is the only man that she is comfortable with, other than her husband. Because she firmly believes that Judge Turpin can be trusted- he wouldn't do her any wrong. Though she's not sure with Beadle Bamford, there's something about him that unsettles her.

Beadle Bamford is a dangerous man- Lucy thinks. Whenever he is around, she always feels like he is watching her every move. She feels uncomfortable around him. Especially when she sees his smile- more like a grin- it is an I-know-something-that-you-don't smile. And the way he looks at her, how he openly stares at her and her form- it makes her shiver.

The long ride back home makes Lucy feel sleepy- plus the fact that she has to wake up very early to prepare her things. They also have to travel early in the morning because if they leave in the afternoon they will return to London late at night- which they are avoiding because it is too dangerous to travel at night.

She leans her forehead on the small window of the carriage to catch some rest, but the road is rough and she just ends up banging her head on the window. Judge Turpin notices this; he guides Lucy's head so that she is leaning on his shoulder. Lucy makes no protest, she closes her eyes- thankful to the judge- and she drifts off to sleep.

* * *

Benjamin wakes up with a stiff neck and a sore back. Feeling an empty side beside him, he immediately looks at the spot where Mrs. Lovett is last night, but she's not there. He sighs as he rubs his lower back, hoping to ease the pain. He is about to stand up and find Mrs. Lovett but he thought better of it. He needs to think- think about what's going on between them.

He fully lies down the sofa; resting his head on the armrest. He sighs in relief as his body stretches. He crosses his arm in front him and begins pondering about what happened last night. He does not know why he did it, but he's not going to deny the fact that he liked it.

There's something that he felt that he cannot explain when their lips met- it's like being struck by a lightning and your whole body shivers, but not in pain but in delight. The feeling is indescribable. Their kiss is like magic- you do not know what's happening or if it's even real. It's like your mind is playing tricks on you but, you can feel it- the amazement, the wonderment, and the feeling of being blown away. And just like what happened always in the end of the trick, when the magic is over you feel lost- that you don't have a clue of what you just witnessed but at the same time you feel happy- happy that you were able to experience it.

It is like that with Mrs. Lovett- he does not know what to think or what to do with her. He knows what they did is wrong and that he should regret it but he doesn't. Besides, Lucy wouldn't find out about it unless he or Mrs. Lovett tells it to her. And his wife also has secrets that she doesn't tell him- going out with the judge and the beadle without him knowing, so it's only fair.

Ben abruptly sits up; he tugs his hair and growls in frustration. He should not be thinking like that. Lucy is very special to him- he loves her and she does not deserve what he's doing to her. He's cheating. First he got Mrs. Lovett pregnant and now he kissed her without even feeling remorse. What he's doing is wrong and he has to stop, before Lucy finds out- but how?

First, he thinks, he should tell Mrs. Lovett to dismiss about what happened last night. It would be better if they both forget it. Second, he will make it clear to her that the kiss means nothing. He just wants to make sure that Mrs. Lovett understands that. But knowing Mrs. Lovett, he's sure that it also means nothing to her. Besides, she's the one who said that they just got carried away. Lastly, maybe he should avoid her-to stop unnecessary things to happen again. Once is enough, it shall never happen again.

* * *

Lucy wakes up to the feeling of someone shaking her. When she opens her eyes, she sees the judge gently shaking her awake. She stifles a yawn and sits up, straightening her dress. She looks out the window and sees that the carriage is not moving. The streets outside are unfamiliar- they are not yet home.

She wonders why they stopped. She turns to Judge Turpin, a frown etched on her face. "Why did we stop? Is there a problem?" she asks in concern.

The Judge chuckles "No, my dear. We are going to eat. I'm hungry and I think you are too, am I right?" as if on cue, Lucy's stomach rumbles, causing her cheeks to turn a shade of red in embarrassment.

"I take that as a yes." The judge says, he smiles at her and begins to climb out of the carriage. The beadle is already outside, waiting impatiently for his companions. Lucy follows the judge; she steps out of the carriage with Judge Turpin helping her. They enter in a small tavern where they also serve food.

It is still early so there are only few people inside- those who are also taking their breakfast and those who failed to go home last night because of drunkenness. They take a seat near the counter; the waiter immediately approaches them. They order their desired food and when they are done, the waiter leaves.

"I really do hope that you'll continue to work for me, Mrs. Barker." Judge Turpin says. He is sitting beside Lucy, looking at her with pleading eyes- while the Beadle is seated across them, a sickly sweet smile planted on his face as he looks at her.

Lucy and Judge Turpin had an agreement that she will know first if she can handle the job that has been assigned to her before she fully applies to it- for the reason that she has no real experience about working. That leads to her going on a one week business trip with Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford.

"I am still undecided, sir. But I assure you that I will let you know immediately of my decision." Lucy says, smiling politely.

The Judge sighs, looking crestfallen. "If you still think that you can't handle the job, Mrs. Barker, then I can assure you that you did well." He says, with a hint of desperation in his voice. He really wants to work with Lucy, he likes her- ever since the day he first saw her- and it grows even stronger these past few days that they are together. So, accepting the job means he'll get to spend more time with her and he likes that. Besides, he can tell that she has also grown fond of him- he cannot explain how, but he knows she has.

"You are too kind, sir." Is all she says; she's not sure if she believes him or not. But really, she also thinks that she did well.

The judge looks like he's going to say something to her again but is unable to continue when the waiter arrives, bringing their food. They start eating, without speaking with each other. They need to hurry up, if they do not want to travel at night.

* * *

Benjamin and Eleanor are having breakfast. Mrs. Lovett notices that Ben is being uncharacteristically quiet. She looks at him, trying to make eye contact, but his gaze is firmly fixed on the bowl of porridge that he is eating. She does not know why is he acting like that and she's getting worried. Did she do something wrong? Maybe it's about last night. 'Of course it is about last night' she mentally yells at herself.

She expects that he will act like it didn't happen and carry on with the normal life- well, she's very much mistaken. But of course, how can a married man like him just forget about it? Especially a man that is so loyal to his wife- though it is a bit ironic to say that, considering he is having his first child her. She is sure that he is feeling really bad right now. She also must be feeling that way- she says to herself- but she's too happy that it happened to care.

But now that Ben is acting really affected about what they did, it makes her sad- it hurts her. Because it only proves that she's the only one who enjoyed it- that to him, it is just a big mistake; wherein she considers that mistake a spark of hope.

"I'm sorry." She says in barely a whisper; looking at him even though he's not meeting her gaze.

He slowly looks up to her, with a frown etched on her face. "What was that?"

"I'm sorry." She repeats.

"For what?" he asks, confused.

"For what happened last night."

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath- he slowly opens his eyes, but he refuses to look at her. He opens and closes his mouth to say something but nothing comes out- as if he's afraid to say something. She grabs his hand- that is placed on top of the table- with both her hands and gives it a light squeeze, not letting go.

"Tell me." She says, encouraging him. He looks so confused and troubled that she thinks she knows now what's on his mind. She does not know if she really wants to hear what he's going to say. Because she knows that it will only hurt her.

"Last night… it- I- it shouldn't have happened. We should- we should… forget about it." he stammers.

Just like as she guesses, his words hurts her. Forget? Can she do that? She can pretend, yes. But she will never forget. That kiss, that's what she wishes for every night before she goes to sleep, and now he wants her to forget it? No, she will not. Does it really mean nothing to him, that he can say that?

Ben continues to speak; unaware of how his words are affecting the woman in front of him "I also want you to know that… it is nothing- it means nothing to me. I assume that you feel the same, yes?"

He looks up to her to see her reaction. She slowly lets go of his hand, putting hers on her lap. This time, she's the one who refuses to look. She ducks her head down; she closes her eyes to prevent the tears that are threatening to spill out. She is digging her nails on her lap, her lips forming a thin line and her eyes are tightly shut. She is still not answering, and he knows that Ben is waiting for her answer- by the way that he does not continue speaking. Taking a deep breath, she relaxes and looks at him- her emotions masked with the passiveness of her face- and nods.

Ben sighs in relief and once again, continues to speak "Lastly, I think that… we should- you know this for us- if we you know… there'd be less trouble and we really- weshouldavoideachother." He says the last past so fast that she is not able to understand it.

"What's that? I didn't understand you."

"I was just saying that we should avoid each other. We don't really want that to happen again, right? If we're apart we could easily avoid inappropriate things like that. Do you agree?" he is smiling at her, with a hopeful look in his eyes- as if pleading that she agrees with him.

She abruptly stands up, startling Ben. She walks towards the counter as she talks. "Okay, _Mr. Barker._ If we are going to avoid each other, better start now." She says, with a bitter tone- stressing the 'Mr. Barker'.

A stubborn tear rolls down her cheek as she pounds on the dough; she hastily wipes it, concealing it to Ben. Luckily, he does not notice. He stands up, taking their plates to the sink. But before he reaches it, Mrs. Lovett is already getting the plates away from him, telling him to just leave it. He insists, taking the plates back away from her, but Mrs. Lovett grabs it back. They are arguing- getting the plates from one to another, until suddenly, the plates drop and shatter into pieces.

They look at each other, shock written on their faces. They are frozen on the spot. Mrs. Lovett is the one who gets to her senses back first.

"Look at what you did! I told you to leave it, didn't I!?" she yells at him, bending down to pick up the broken pieces of the plates.

Ben also bends down and starts helping Mrs. Lovett. "I'm sorry, Nellie. I'll just replace it if-"he apologizes but is cut off when she speaks.

"Just go" she tells him softly, suppressing the anger and the pain she is feeling.

"No, I'll help you." He continues to pick up the broken pieces of the plates, ignoring what she said.

She throws down the pieces that she picked up, and stands up. One hand on her hip and the other one pointing at the door, she shouts at him- not able to control her emotions anymore "I SAID LEAVE! GET OUT!"

"But- but-" He tries to reason out to her. Shock and fear on his face are apparent, from her unexpected outburst.

"LEAVE!" she shouts again and Ben cannot do anything but go back to his shop upstairs. Once Benjamin exits her shop, Eleanor slumps down on the bench that they are occupying a while ago. She places her elbow on top of the table, holding her head with her hand. Then…

…_She cries._

For their friendship that will now stop to blossom even more, for the times that they will not spend together anymore, for him for saying that so easily to her, for falling in love with the wrong man, for losing that one spark of hope and for their ending that started with a kiss.

She is so tired, so, so, tired. Everything in her life feels like a big mistake. Whenever she finds happiness, it is easily taken away from her. With a snap of a finger everything crashes down- just like that. She feels like she'd been cursed to stay forever miserable and alone. When will she ever be happy?

She stands up, going to her bedroom. She's not going to open her shop today, she's exhausted- both mentally and physically. She will just lie down on her bed and take a rest- hoping that when she wakes up, everything will be fine. Just like waking up from a nightmare- the relief you feel in finding out that everything is just a dream.

She lies down her bed, covering herself up with a blanket. She curls up in a fetus position. She appears like a wounded child- she is, but she is not a child anymore- a woman, a woman who has a lot of problems that a simple candy couldn't solve. The moment she closes her eyes, she immediately falls into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Hey guys! sorry for not updating for a very long time. I've been very busy with school. :(

This chapter is still not complete... you see, Lucy is still not yet home. Next chapter will be the continuation of this.

uhm... well, does any of you still read this? I hope you all still do.

Leave me a review, please :)


	11. Chapter 11

I just wanted to say thank you so much to thelovelyflorencelovett and sonic-daydreams for reviewing the last chapter. Your reviews keeps me writing :)

* * *

It is already late afternoon when the carriage reaches London; it stops at The Judge's house. There are four maids already waiting outside. They immediately grab the bags at the back of the carriage and take it inside, without waiting for instructions.

When they are all able to set their feet on the ground, Lucy immediately says her good bye to The Beadle and The Judge. But when she checks for her bags at the compartment, it is not there anymore. She frowns in confusion and turns to Judge Turpin who is smirking at her. She raises an eyebrow and asks "Where are my bags, sir? I really need to go home. My husband is waiting for me."

Judge Turpin grimaces when he hears the word 'husband', but he quickly changes his expression- sporting a warm smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "But Mrs. Barker, you should come inside first. Lunch is ready."

"I'm sorry, sir. I really need to go home. But nonetheless, thank you for your offer" Lucy says, politely declining The Judge's invitation. "Can I have my things now, sir?"

The Judge sighs in defeat- looking down and clamping his hands behind his back. "Well, then let me just take you home. It is not safe for a pretty lady- like you- to be walking around the streets of London alone.

Lucy's cheeks turn red at the compliment. She ducks her head down- hiding the little smile and the blush that creeps into her face. She clears her throat- composing herself- and nods at Judge Turpin, accepting his offer. The Judge turns back at The Beadle before leaving.

"You may eat without me." Beadle Bamford abruptly turns around, heading inside- excited for the thought of food waiting for him inside. But halfway making through the door, Judge Turpin calls for him again. "And Beadle, tell them to bring Mrs. Barker's things out."

Beadle Bamford nods dismissively, yelling for the maids before he even steps inside the house. One maid comes out of the house rushing towards the Judge. The maid turns to Lucy and hands her things to her, but the Judge takes it away from the maid carrying Lucy's bags for her.

As the two of them walk, Lucy notices the way people stares at her and The Judge when they pass by them. She does not like the way they look, it has malice in them. Women will make face and whisper to their husband or their companion when they think that she doesn't notice them.

She casts a side glance to The Judge, checking if he too sees the way people look at them. His face shows no emotion. As if noticing that Lucy is looking at him, he faces her and smiles at her before continuing to stare ahead. Lucy sighs, she does not know if he's just choosing to ignore the people or he doesn't notice them.

* * *

They arrive at Fleet Street. The first thing Lucy notices is that Mrs. Lovett's shop is closed- It is not usual for the baker to close her shop, so Lucy wonders what caused her to do so. She turns back to the judge who is standing a foot behind her. She is about to invite him upstairs to their apartment when the door opens, showing Benjamin.

"Ben!" Lucy shouts; she runs to the landing of the stairs, waiting for her husband- she has the biggest smile on her face.

Ben takes two steps at a time in going down- excitement and joy plastered on his face. Once he reaches Lucy, he engulfs her in a fierce hug and she returns it- embracing him tighter. After a while, Judge Turpin clears his throat- making his presence known. It has been awkward for him to look at what the two are doing.

Lucy pulls apart from his husband, blushing in embarrassment for forgetting The Judge. She takes Ben's hand as she tugs him to walk towards Judge Turpin. Once they are in front of him, she speaks- introducing Judge Turpin. "Ben, this is Judge Turpin, and sir, this is my husband- Benjamin Barker."

Ben slowly and hesitantly holds out his hand for Judge Turpin to shake- forcing a smile on his face. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

The judge just looks at Ben's outstretched hand, with something like disgust on his face. But quickly wipes it away, changing it with a sinister grin. He nods in reply, not shaking Ben's hand. He gives-throws- Lucy's bags to Benjamin without looking at him. He is looking at Lucy, who has a skeptic look on her face upon witnessing the exchange between the two men.

"I shall be going, Mrs. Barker. I thank you for your… services for the past whole week." The judge glances briefly at Ben- who is glaring at a wide eyed Lucy- and nods at him before he turns around and leaves- not knowing that he just created a big fight between the couple for saying what he said.

When the judge is out of sight, Lucy quickly turns around to face her husband- immediately explaining herself. "Ben, dear- I- we- let me explain. Please Ben! I was- "

Ben does not bother listening to her. He angrily climbs back up to their apartment- ignoring Lucy's pleading. When he reaches the door, he yanks it open and closes it forcefully with a loud bang- shutting it to his wife's face. He drops the bag that he's carrying on his way to their bedroom- locking it.

Lucy follows Ben- crying uncontrollably. She bangs at the door- asking him to open it so she can explain; to no avail. She leans back on the door, sliding down to the floor. Bringing her knees up, she hugs them as she cries some more.

She regrets everything she did. She feels very stupid for hiding the truth from her husband. She didn't know the he'd find out about it. She shouldn't have gone with the judge but instead, she should have listened to her husband when he told her to just stay at their house. After all, it was really for her benefit. Why did she let the judge walk her home? She should have known that this would happen. But she was not thinking when she let him. Besides, it is really not safe for her to be walking alone.

But in all honesty, it is really her husband's fault. If he would just allow her to work then she wouldn't have to hide that she'd be working for the judge. Also, she only did it for their best. They both want a child and of course, they need money to support one. That's why she looked for a job. When he said that the money that he is saving is not yet enough, she knew she needed to find a way to add money to their savings. Instead of sitting around all day and doing nothing, it'd be better if she worked.

But her husband didn't let her explain. He does not have the right to be angry if what she did is only for their best. He should appreciate what she did. If only he would listen to her then he would surely understand. But no, he chose to ignore her and it's not her problem anymore. If he does not want to listen to her, then fine. She's going back to The Judge where she knows she will be understood.

Lucy's crying ceases. She sniffs loudly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She knows it is very unladylike, but right now, she doesn't care. Besides, no one can see her. She clears her throat while wiping her tear stained face. She stands up and straightens her dress.

"I'm going out." she shouts, before leaving. She is not asking for his permission, just telling him that she's going out so that he knows. She waits for an answer- though she's not expecting one. When she hears no reply, she simply walks out of their apartment, going to The Judge.

* * *

Ben sits at the edge of the bed- fuming. He is shaking with anger. He is holding a fistful of bed sheet with both his hands. His grip is so tight that his knuckles are turning white and it is starting to hurt- though he doesn't mind; what Lucy did hurts more than the physical pain he is now experiencing.

She lied to him.

Why? What had caused her to do so? She just spent the whole week with that Judge Turpin, how dare she? What have they been doing all those times that they were together? How could she go with that man she doesn't even know? How did they meet, after all? Did something… happen between them? How could she do this to him?

Benjamin lets out a frustrated growl- tugging at his hair. A tear escapes his eye. He is so hurt. He thought that the questions that have been bugging him before his wife comes home will be answered when she's finally here- he's wrong. The questions just multiplied, adding more confusions than his mind can handle. She even has the nerve to introduce him to that man. Unbelievable!

What shall he do now? Talk to her? Let her explain? Yes, maybe he should listen to her first before he jumps into conclusions. He can tell that she stopped crying now. He shall go to her now- now that they are calmer. He stands up to open the door. His hand is on the doorknob- about to twist it- when he hears her say that she's going out. Her voice sounds… angry?

Going out? Where will she go? Aren't they supposed to talk? Doesn't she care? Maybe not. Well, fine. If she does not want to talk about it or if she does not want to solve their problem, it's okay with him. He's not the one who's going out with another man and not telling her husband.

He waits for her to exit their apartment before he goes out of their bedroom. If she's going out- he's also going out. But where will he go? The first thing that pops in his mind is downstairs- to his best friend. Yes, he'll go to Nellie, she will understand him.

He goes downstairs, heading to Mrs. Lovett's shop. Of course, he has not forgotten that he should be avoiding her and that she threw her out of her house just a while ago, but he just needs someone to talk to and she's the person he can rely on. He'll apologize to her first, before anything else- he does not like fighting with her.

He opens the door to Mrs. Lovett's shop- finding it empty. He slowly walks to the parlor where he's sure is where he'll see her. He's right- there she is, curled up in the settee, reading a book. She looks like she just woke up. He approaches her, calling her softly. "Nellie?"

She stiffens. He places his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him. She raises an eyebrow in question.

"I am sorry for what happened earlier." He says sincerely. Her reply is to look at the book that's on her lap, picking it up and resumes her reading.

Ben walks to the front of the settee, sitting at the empty space beside Mrs. Lovett- his usual spot. He grips her wrist, causing the book to fall. She looks at him- surprised.

"Please Nell, I'm sorry. I was just helping you- I – I didn't- please. I'm really sorry." He says pleadingly; hoping that she'll accept his apology. He really is sorry.

"It's alright Mr. Barker. Now, if that's all you're going to say then I must ask you to leave. I'm quite busy here." She answers. Her voice is cold, gone now its usual cheeriness.

The use of 'Mr. Barker' is immediately noticed by Ben. He knows that she's still angry. It's kind of irritating that she's acting that way just because of broken plates. He can always replace them, no need for her to be so angry. He sighs in disappointment. He thought he would get comfort from his best friend- he was wrong.

"I just wanted to talk." He says; his voice is full of sadness. "… but I see that you're busy. Sorry for bothering you. I'll just leave." He stands up, feeling lonely than ever before. His wife left, and now his best friend is ignoring him. He guesses that he's on his own now.

He slowly walks out of the parlor, feeling like he is carrying the world on his shoulders. He reaches the front door to Mrs. Lovett's shop when…

"Ben, wait!"

* * *

I know, it's short. sorry. Just had to end it there. :)

Don't you guys think that Lucy is fast becoming a bitch, hmm? mehehe... XD

Please Review and Make My Day :D


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for this short chapter. I promise that next time it will be longer. :)

Thank you so so much for you reviews. :))))

* * *

"_Ben, wait!" _

Mrs. Lovett knows that he should be angry with Ben- she still is- but she cannot just let him go like that. She did not fail to notice the deep sadness in his voice when he said that he needed to talk. It's heartbreaking for her to hear him like that. She doesn't know what his problem might be but she will do anything to help him.

Ben turns around to look at Mrs. Lovett, he looks broken and tormented. She beckons him to follow her- turning around and starts walking. She goes back to the parlor- with Ben trailing behind her- taking a seat at the settee. He stands in front of her, and she gestures for him to sit beside her. He plops down the sofa with heavy sigh- elbows on his lap, holding his head. She hesitantly lifts her hand and places it on his back. When he did not react to her touch, she begins to rub his back, waiting for him to speak whenever he's ready.

"She's with him." he says in a whisper, almost as if he's not sure with what he is saying. Mrs. Lovett has to listen closely to hear what he is saying. She is confused as to what he is talking about but she thinks she has an idea on to whom it is.

"What are you talking about, love?" she asks him, bending down- trying to take a look at his face that is covered with his hands.

He rubs his face, taking a deep breath. He leans back on the sofa- causing Mrs. Lovett to withdraw her hand from his back- intertwining his fingers together and crossing his feet. He looks at the fire place in front of them with a pained expression on his face. "Lucy, she's with the judge, not her sister."

Mrs. Lovett covers her mouth, hiding the gasp that escapes her lips. Whenever she would see Mrs. Barker, she always thinks of her as prim and proper lady that can never do bad things. And from Ben's stories, he said that Lucy is very quiet and very shy woman who doesn't like to venture outside and mingle with people; she would rather stay in their house and knit. Although she kind of hates Lucy- just because she's Benjamin's wife- at the same time, she thinks highly of her.

Maybe Lucy has a good reason on why she would lie to Ben and go with The Judge. Besides, just because she's with The Judge it doesn't mean that the two of them did something wrong.

"Ben, you know you should not be here. You should be upstairs with your wife." She says to him, as she places her hand on his shoulder.

He glares at her and says in a cold voice. "She left. She probably went to that Judge Turpin's house."

"But why did you let her leave? Did you talk to her?" she asks in a scolding tone, her mouth forming a thin line.

"No." he sighs in defeat, ducking his head down. "I was too angry… I didn't let her explain." He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Mrs. Lovett shakes her head and clinks her tongue. "There's a reason why she did that, Ben. Now, you wait for her and you listen to her explanation. Hmm?"

He gives her a nod in response and looks at her with pleading eyes. "Can I wait here?"

Her demeanor changes- she removes her hand from her shoulder, sitting straight as she turns away from him. Her reply is immediate and direct to the point. "No."

"You're still angry with me, aren't you?"Ben says in almost an accusing tone.

"I can't see how you could be so angry over a couple of broken plates, Nellie." He chuckles, just to lighten the mood. "I can always replace them."

Mrs. Lovett feels like she's going to burst- never feeling so angry before in her life, not until now. She cannot believe how Insensitive Benjamin is. If he believes that she's angry just because of those bloody plates then he probably thinks she's too shallow. How can she tell him that the reason why she is angry is because he's ready to throw their friendship just because of that stupid kiss?

She wants to yell at him but instead she tries to calm herself and speaks softly but in a cold tone. "If you think that's the reason why I'm mad at you, then I believe that our friendship does not matter to you."

"I don't understand, Nellie. Please tell me why you're mad." Says Ben, pleadingly. He puts his hand on her shoulder, shaking her lightly because she wouldn't look at her.

Mrs. Lovett knows that if she looks at him, then all her anger will fade away. So she tries her best not to glance at him. She does not want to tell him what's wrong; she wants him to know for himself. She just wants to throttle him now just to make him realize what he's done wrong. But of course, she wouldn't do that because she couldn't.

Ben tries desperately to get Mrs. Lovett's attention, but she just wouldn't look at him. So he stands up from the sofa and kneels in front of her. He grabs her hands and holds it, intertwining hers with him. He places his face in front of hers, close enough that he can feel her breath on his cheeks. But her eyes are not focused on his- she's looking at the fireplace behind him.

"Nellie." He calls softly.

"Nellie, look at me please." He says as he squeezes her hands.

Mrs. Lovett really is really trying all her best no to look at him, but she cannot help it anymore. He's kneeling in front of her! He's so close to her that it is causing her foolish heart to beat so fast. She can feel the heat radiating off of his body and the smooth texture of his palms that fits perfectly into her calloused ones. But most of all, she can feel his desperate attempt to have her look at him.

At last, she gives up. She knows she cannot stay mad at him for a long time.

She sighs in defeat and slowly looks at him. When he sees that she's finally looking, he beams at her, giving her a very charming smile that she really loves. "Please, tell me."

Mrs. Lovett sighs in defeat. Her brow furrows, as she looks down. "Well, you said… we should avoid each other."

Ben suddenly realizes what she's so mad about. Of course, it is so insensitive for him to say that. But at that time, he is so confuse and is not thinking properly. He just says whatever he thinks is right and does not consider what she will feel.

"Oh, Nellie. I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean it. I was just so confused and… I'm sorry, Nellie. Besides, you should know by now that I won't be able to stay away from you. I would immediately miss your company." He taps her nose with his finger, causing her to turn away from him and chuckle.

Ben stands up and sits beside Mrs. Lovett, wrapping his arms around her. He leans his head on her shoulder and looks up at her. "Now, can I wait here?"

Mrs. Lovett pushes him away from her and abruptly stands up- hands on her hips. She glares at a shocked Benjamin Barker, he is about to offer again another apology when she grins at him and sticks her tongue out.

"I'll go get our tea. Stay there." she turns around and starts walking out of the parlor but halfway she turns back to Ben and winks at him.

Lucy is in Judge Turpin's parlor, sitting across from him. They are both seated on their own individual sofa- the fireplace in front of them keeping them warm and cozy. He is currently comforting her as she tells him her problem with her husband.

Lucy feels comfortable telling her problems to Judge Turpin, because she feels like he understands her. She told him about lying to her husband because she knew he wouldn't agree of her working. She also told him the reason why she did it. Instead of getting angry- like how her husband reacted- Judge Turpin told her that he perfectly understand her reason for doing it- he said that she only did it for them- her and Ben.

"I really don't want to go home yet. I am not ready to face Benjamin." Lucy says as she plays with the hem of her dress. She is hoping that The Judge would her stay in his house. She knows that their problem will only get worse if she will not go home, but she does not want to face her close minded husband yet.

* * *

Lucky for Lucy that Judge Turpin picks up on the hints the she is dropping that she does not want to go home.

"Mrs. Barker, you are always welcome in my house. There are a lot of rooms here and I am very sure that I can let you stay in one of them." The Judge says as he sits at the edge of the sofa, reaching for Lucy's hand and giving it a light squeeze.

Lucy puts her other hand on top of The Judge's hand, she looks at him, smiling thankfully. "Thank you so much for your kindness, Sir. I would love to stay here just for the night. And please sir, call me Lucy."

Judge Turpin removes his hand from Lucy and chuckles. He leans back on the sofa, looking at the fireplace- he seems to be in deep thought. Lucy does not know what The Judge is thinking but he seems happy for he has the biggest smile on his face. After a while, The Judge returns his gaze on Lucy, still smiling brightly.

"Well, in that case, from now on, I prefer you to call me Richard." Lucy nods in agreement. She is happy t

The Judge stands up from his seat and walks out of the room, muttering something about asking the maids to prepare her room.

* * *

As time passes by and the light sinks toward the horizon, Benjamin is still at Mrs. Lovett's living room, waiting patiently for his wife to return. She never leaves his side, assuring him that Lucy just needs time for herself and will be back before he knows it. He doesn't have a clue that his wife will not be back until morning comes.

* * *

Hey! I hope you guys are still reading this. ^^

Please tell me what do you want to happen next in this story. I would love to know what you have in mind. I am running out of ideas and would be glad if you share yours. (I'll give credit, of course.) just hit the review button or PM me :P

Leave Me a Review, Please? :)


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you for the reviews and favorites :)

Sorry for taking too long to update this, I got busy- and lazy. ;) forgive me. but hey, i'm back with another chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Lucy stirs from her sleep; there is someone knocking on the door, calling her name. Shielding her eyes from the daylight sun, she slowly opens them. Squinting, she takes a look around- confused to the unfamiliar surroundings. Panic starts to bubble inside her chest; she does not know where she is. All she knows is that she is in a rather, lavish looking bedroom- contrary to the apartment where they live in.

That's when reality dawns on her. She now remembers having a fight with her husband and going to the judge. She is in Judge Turpin's house- bedroom. A sigh of relief escapes her and, she slumps back down the bed- not even realizing that she abruptly sits up straight a while ago in panic. She is about to sleep again when she hears her name being called, followed by a soft knock.

Flinging the covers to the side, she grabs the robe on the side of her bed and puts it on- tightening the knot to cover her body. Wearing her slippers- provided by The Judge-, she pads towards the door and opens it. In front she stands the one and only honourable Judge Turpin. He is smiling down at her, holding a stem of red rose. He hands the flower to her, kissing her hand. She blushes in response and murmurs a 'thank you'.

"Good Morning, Mrs- Lucy. I hate to disturb you in your sleep but, it is time for breakfast now. We wouldn't want you missing the first meal of the day- and I say, the most important one, won't we?" he says, smirking as he quirks an eyebrow up.

She nods timidly.

Judge Turpin turns and walks away but, he calls after her again- turning his head to the side. "The dining's down the hall, third door to your left."

With that, she closes the door and proceeds to change back to the dress she is wearing last night.

* * *

After changing to a more appropriate dress, Lucy goes down to the dining area. The Judge is already there, seated at the head of the table. Beadle Bamford is also present, seated at the right of The Judge. He appears to be eating already.

She walks towards Judge Turpin- to his left- passing the line of maids that are standing on the side- hungrily gazing at the food served on the table. She thinks of asking why they are not eating since they are not doing anything- and they all look hungry- but, she does not want to question The Judge.

Judge Turpin stands and moves the chair for her; she takes a seat and thanks him. Seeing that Judge Turpin has not started eating yet, her cheeks redden, feeling embarrassed for keeping him wait. She ducks her head down to hide her blush. Then, a hand softly taps her on the shoulder, she looks up to find The Judge's worried face staring at her.

"Is there something wrong?" The Beadle stops eating and looks up to her, to see. When she shakes her head no, Beadle Bamford shrugs and continues eating- while The Judge lightly squeezes her shoulder. She smiles at him in reassurance.

"Let's eat, then." The Judge says. He starts taking food, placing them on Lucy's plate.

While The Judge is concentrating on filling Lucy's plate, she glances up at him. She smiles to herself, liking how the man in front of her treats her so nicely. She feels very special around him- like a queen. It is not that her husband treats her badly; it's just that she feels so distant with him now. Or maybe she just feels differently because they are not in good terms right now- yes, that's it.

* * *

Benjamin wakes up to hearing loud crashing noises. He moves to get out of bed to check if maybe Lucy has come back, but then he falls with a thud; he is now face to face with the floor. Groaning, he lifts himself up into a sitting position. Upon looking around, he realizes that he is in Mrs. Lovett's parlour- a common occurrence. He immediately stands up, wobbling slightly. He then goes out to the shop to look for the baker.

He finds her at the counter, pounding mercilessly at the dough. She is much focused on what she's doing that she does not realize that he is standing near her. Suddenly, an idea occurs to him. Smirking, he sneaks up behind her, careful not to make so much noise. Then without warning, he firmly wraps his arm around her, offering no escape- while the other attacks her sides, tickling her.

She yelps in surprise and thrashes around to free herself but, he is too strong. Looking for a way out, she uses her free hands and grabs the flour at the counter-hoping it will distract him enough to let her go. She throws it at Ben, getting covered herself in the process. Her plan is successful; he releases her, stumbling forward as he does so. She turns around ready to scold him but he is not in front of her.

She finds Ben on the floor, sitting, coughing furiously. She crouches down beside him, her heart beating fast in panic. "Ben? Ben, are you alright?"

He does not answer her. He is clutching his chest now, while he continues to cough. She does not know what to do, she ceases shaking him seeing as it is not helping. She stays beside him, doing nothing for her mind is blank; all she can do is staring at him.

She stares at him as he crumbles down the floor, taking sharp intakes of breath in between his coughing. She scrambles at his side, getting more and more hysterical and crying. Her body is shaking. Her sobs are accompanied by his coughing.

"Ben! Ben please! Stop! I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" she screams and begs but it seems like he is getting worse.

She places her head on his stomach and wraps her arms around him as she continues to cry- not aware that this action is definitely not helping him. But fortunately after a while, she notices that Ben's coughing stops. She lifts here head up to see if he's okay and instead she sees him…. _Laughing. _She's been tricked, again!

Sitting up, she straddles his waist and clutches the front of his shirt. His only reaction is to laugh even more. So she starts shaking him, his body lifting off the floor. He holds onto her as she assaults him, scared that he might hit his head on the ground.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Mrs. Lovett screams at him. Still, he finds it funny how he got her a while ago- oh she's really scared. So, he laughs even more.

After a while, she releases him, his head hits the floor but not that hard. She buries her head at the crook of his neck. He lay panting on the floor, catching his breath while still chuckling. When his laughter subsides, that's when he notices that Mrs. Lovett is crying. Not expecting her to react like this, he wraps his arms around her and caresses her back, feeling terribly guilty. "Shh… it's alright. I'm fine now- I was just kidding. I'm sorry- shh… calm down."

Mrs. Lovett stops crying moments later, and Ben notice this with a relief- though he continues to run his hands down her back. After regaining her composure, she is now again prepared to berate him. She traps him, her hands at both sides of his head, her face dangerously close to him. Her face contorts into an angry feature then, she opens her mouth and starts preaching.

"You're a bastard, you know?! I hate you so much, Ben! Do you know how worried I was? No, you didn't- seeing you was so happy when you saw me crying. I was panicking and you still didn't stop pretending. I hate you! That weren't a good joke, Ben! I was so scared- I thought you was- I hate you! You could really be dying there and-"

She is cut off from speaking when suddenly, hungry lips are pressing into hers. She is too stunned to react at first but after her initial shock, she starts responding. Their kisses are desperate and passionate. Both are fighting for dominance but neither is winning. Their moans of pleasure are swallowed by each other's mouth.

Ben manages to flip Mrs. Lovett, without breaking the kiss- he is now the one on top of her. She wraps her legs around his waist, feeling his hard member rubbing against her. She starts unbuttoning his shirt, opening them one by one at first but eventually ripping them off. She tries removing his shirt but cannot, for his hands are tangled in her wild tresses.

Sensing what she's trying to do, Ben lifts himself up and removes the clothing- helping her. Right after, He immediately goes back to assaulting her, her neck this time. Placing wet kisses and sucking at the sensitive skin. He flips them over again, and sits up. They are now in a seating position with her on his lap.

He starts working on the many laces of her dress, but he is finding it hard to remove them. Noticing this, Mrs. Lovett helps him. He lets her remove them and busies himself with her lips. Untying the last lace, the dress comes undone; it drops down to her waist, uncovering her breasts. She is now bare in front of him. He stops what he's doing to marvel at the sight in front of him. He can feel himself getting harder- if possible.

Mrs. Lovett blushes at the intense gaze he's giving her body. She wants to recoil but she holds still, letting him. Slowly, he raises a hand and brushes them lightly over her erect nipple- her body shivers at the pleasure. Then, with much subtleness, he cups his breast- kneading them like dough. She throws her head back, closing her eyes and moaning at the sensation. She grabs his other hand and places it on her other breast, encouraging him. She can feel her knickers getting wetter.

She grinds herself on him, also wanting to pleasure him. She smirks as he gives out a long groan. His mouth finds her nipples, alternating between left and right- he teases them between his teeth, lightly biting. She grabs a fistful of her hair, bringing his face closer to her as her hips grinds to him more enthusiastically.

She slides her hands between their bodies, feeling her hard muscular chest. She reaches for her trousers, and she immediately unbuckles his belt. When she unbuttons his pants, she slides her hand further down to grab his member, she feels his breath skip when she does so. Teasing him, she slowly runs her hand up and down his length, then faster, then slower and so on.

He is now completely immobile- head thrown back, eyes closed and mouth hanging open. Then, she releases her hold on him, which earns her a noise of protest. Kneeling- as not to be seen outside- she, ever so slowly, unfastens her skirt and lets it drop on the floor, pooling around her. Clad only with underwear and stockings, she sits on the floor and sensually removes her stockings- never taking her eyes off of Benjamin.

As the last one comes off, she kneels again, hooking her thumb on the waistband of her underwear and teasingly rolling it down. When it reaches her knees, she lifts them up alternately to remove her knickers completely. She loves the lust filled gaze he is giving her.

She yelps in surprise when Ben suddenly launches himself on her, pinning her on the floor with her hands above her head. He kisses her hard on the lips as she fights to remove her hands from his hold- wanting to touch him. Growling, he let go of her, removing his trousers and positioning himself on her between legs.

Looking at her for permission, she nods. He positions the tip of his member on her dripping entrance, both groaning in pleasure as he enters her. She wraps her arms tightly around him, not wanting him to move yet but feel him fill her- complete her. He obeys, wanting the same.

Then, after a few seconds, she releases her hold on him and thrusts her hips upwards. Taking the signal, Benjamin starts moving inside her. They are both gentle at first but it didn't take long when they find their body moving with intense and hunger.

His thrusts are getting harder and faster and she, getting closer and closer to the brink of climaxing. She lifts her legs higher, giving him an angle to take her deeper- these both gave them immense pleasure. She is digging her nails on his back, leaving marks. He can feel the pain from her nails but he casts it aside, for pleasure wins over pain.

Her moans are getting louder, and if she does not stop, soon the whole Fleet Street will hear her. He leans down and kisses her hard to silence her cries- their tongues fighting with each other. Sooner rather than later, she stills and throws her head back, her mouth hanging open and her face in pure bliss as she reaches her climax. She writhes under him, a few more thrusts and he also reaches his own.

He collapses on top of her, both panting and catching their breath. After regaining their breath, he rolls off her and drops to her side, pulling her close to him. She snuggles against him, pressing a kiss on his chest. They lay in each other's arm, not speaking, basking at the great sensation they are feeling while it's still there. They know that it will not last, and later, they will regret what they did but, for now they enjoy.

* * *

Lucy walks up the stairs leading to their apartment, turning the knob open, it does not fully turn- closed. She wonders where Benjamin could be. She ponders for a minute and sighs in defeat as she has no clue of the places he goes to. Trudging down the stairs she stops at Mrs. Lovett's shop. Maybe she can stay there while waiting for her husband.

Though she does not talk to Mrs. Lovett that much, Lucy finds her company enjoyable. She is a very cheery person- she is a ball of sunlight. Smiling at the memory of her last conversation with the baker, she opens the door to her shop and walks in- there's no one inside.

"Mrs. Lovett." Lucy calls, she must be around somewhere for the door is open.

She takes a look around, as if the baker is hiding in the corner. Her gaze stops at the counter, it looks like Mrs. Lovett is working on her pies. There flour are scattered everywhere and dough that is flattened by the rolling pin.

"Mrs. Lovett, are you there?" she calls again, receiving no reply.

She ambles towards the counter, she is about to peer when the baker's head popped up, startling her.

"Oh, Mrs. Lovett, you scared me." She says, heart beating fast, clutching her chest.

"Sorry Dearie." The baker smiles at her, and grabs her rolling pin to continue to flatten the dough.

"I was calling for you, you didn't hear me?" Lucy asks a bit sceptic. She notices that Mrs. Lovett's hair is wilder than usual and she is covered with flour. She wonders on what she may be doing behind the counter.

"Hmm, no, sorry. I was busy, you see… making pies and all." She answers dismissively, not even looking at the very confused Mrs. Barker.

"What are you doing down there?" Lucy stands on her tiptoes, trying to see what made her so busy to not hear her.

But the baker stops her before it's too late. "No!"

Shocked, Lucy steps back and murmurs a 'sorry' to the baker. Mrs. Lovett approaches her taking her by the hand and leading her out. "I'm sorry Mrs. Barker, I'm quite busy right now, and I can't have you distracting me."

Lucy cannot do anything but go out of the shop. Before the baker can close the door to her she asks "Mrs. Lovett, do you happen to know where my husband is?"

Mrs. Lovett goes rigid but quickly masks it off by putting on a bright smile. "No, I don't. Good bye, Mrs. Barker."

Before Lucy can reply, the door is already shut.

She stands outside Mrs. Lovett's shop for a while, pondering why the baker is acting so strangely. She noticed how she tensed by the mention of her husband and also, what is she hiding behind that counter? There are so many questions running in Lucy's mind and to answer them, she hides herself at the wall and looks inside the shop- careful to not expose herself.

That's when her questions are answered: when another head popped up the counter… the head of her darling husband.

* * *

Credits to awesomefrankiefan for this chapter. Thank you for giving me the idea. though I said I wouldn't do it yet, but it happened when I was writing it.

I hope you guys are not disappointed with the sex scene. It was new to me and I was nervous about it. I hope it was okay. is it? tell me :)

Leave me a review and i'll give you meat pies. You know you want some ;))))


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